Sputnik began the space age in which year?

• A. 1969
• B. 1945
• C. 1929
• D. 1957

Answer: (C)

The event that marks the start of the space age is the launch of the first artificial satellite into orbit, which happened in 1957 when Sputnik 1 was sent into space by the Soviet Union. This milestone showed that humanity could place objects in Earth orbit and track them from Earth, sparking the intense competition of the space race and accelerating rocket science and exploration.

Looking at the other dates helps see why 1957 is the beginning: 1929 is well before reliable rocket technology and orbital attempts existed; 1945 comes at the end of World War II and still predates the era of orbital satellites; 1969 is famous for the Moon landing, a significant achievement, but it occurred after the space age had already begun. So, 1957 is the year the space age began.