India, Oct. 4 -- On October 4, 1957, a secret Soviet missile test range in present-day Kazakhstan bristled with unusual energy.

A rocket and a satellite had been rolled out to the launch pad the previous morning and were due to lift off on October 6. But just days ahead of that deadline, a rumour set off ripples through the loosely cobbled Soviet teams that had built the hulking rocket and slick satellite - the Americans were due to present a paper on satellites at an international conference on October 5, and chief designer Sergei Korolev feared it meant a US launch was imminent. So, the Soviets decided to slice through the atmosphere earlier.

Exactly 69 years ago, the Soviet Union put an 83.6kg metal sphere into orbit, catching the US...