[Gator113]

The size of the Sputnik was 30.0 m / 98 ft (height) with a diameter of 2.99 m (9.8 ft). Its mass was 267,000 kg (590,000 lbs).

In other words, about the size of Michelle’s fat butt.

[CIDKauf]

BIG watermelon! LOL

[dr_lew]

Sputnik 1 had a diameter of 23" and weighed 184 lbs. The linked article has a lot of interesting information about the satellite and the event.

I remember the headline in the NEWARK EVENING NEWS, SPUTNIK IN ORBIT, and I remember going outside to see it go over. I was only 9 years old, but I think the extent of panic and humiliation in the USA is exaggerated in retrospect. It was a matter of being beaten out by an underdog, but the competition had already been initiated by the drive for rockets suitable for ICBMs. Things were moving fast in those days.

[alexander_busek]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the history was that Sputnik, the size of a watermelon, was the first orbiter prior to Mercury.

Gator113:

The size of the Sputnik was 30.0 m / 98 ft (height) with a diameter of 2.99 m (9.8 ft). Its mass was 267,000 kg (590,000 lbs).

alexander_busek:

Wrong, terribly wrong!

To begin with, one must differentiate between the actual orbiter (the satellite) and the two-stage launch vehicle (which immediately fell back to Earth).

Sputnik 1 launched on October 4, 1957. The satellite (i.e., the "thing" that eventually reached orbit and went "beep-beep") was 58 cm (about 23 in) in diameter and weighed approximately 83.6 kg (about 183 lb).

The launch vehicle - the R-7 - was 34 m long, 3 m in diameter and weighed 280 metric tons.

Regards,

[american_ranger]

YOU ARE WRONG!
Sputnik was small.
Perchance you were talking about the rocket that launched Sputnik.