Which rocket launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit?

The Sputnik 8K71PS rocket launched Sputnik 1 into Earth orbit on 4 October 1957.

The launcher was a modified R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile, developed by the Soviet Union. Its formal designation was 8K71PS, and it is commonly described as the first member of the R-7 family used for a satellite launch. The rocket lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome and placed Sputnik 1 into an elliptical orbit.

The R-7 used liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants and featured a distinctive cluster of four strap-on boosters around a central core. That basic arrangement became a durable pattern in Soviet and Russian launch vehicles. Later versions of the R-7 family launched Vostok, Voskhod and Soyuz spacecraft.

A common mix-up is to call the launcher simply “Sputnik.” Sputnik was the satellite, not the rocket. “Semyorka” refers to the R-7 rocket family, while 8K71PS identifies the specific satellite-launch configuration associated with Sputnik 1. This distinction separates the payload’s name from the vehicle that carried it.