b'For a few months in the fall of 1957, citizens of Earth could look up and see the first artificial star. It shone as bright as Spica, but moved across the sky at a much faster clip. Lots of people thought they were seeing Sputnik\\u2014Russia\\u2019s antennaed, spherical satellite, and the first thing humans had flung into orbit. But it wasn\\u2019t: It was the body of the rocket that bore Sputnik to space\\u2014and Earth\\u2019s first piece of space junk.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'