 On July 29, 1957, the US announced a planned launch of the Vanguard by the spring of 1958, and on July 31, the USSR announced it would launch a satellite in the fall of 1957.On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of Earth in the history of mankind.On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the second satellite, Sputnik 2, and the first to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika.