Secrets of 1957 Sputnik Launch Revealed

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer, Space & Earth science / Space Exploration

Jay Walker poses with his Sputnik satellite in his Ridgefield, Conn., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The satellite, which Walker says is neither a model nor a replica, is one of the Sputnik satellites built by the Soviets in 1957. He says he acquired the satellite through a listing on eBay. (AP Photo/Bob Child)

(AP) -- When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the world gazed at the heavens in awe and apprehension, watching what seemed like the unveiling of a sustained Soviet effort to conquer space and score a stunning Cold War triumph.

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