On October 3rd, 1957, the Russians rocked the world by launching Sputnik ("Little Traveller"), the first man made satellite, into orbit. The satellite weighed in at about 185 pounds and was a little bigger than a basketball. Ham radio operators in the United States were able to copy the steady "beep-beep-beep" signal you're listening to.

A few months later, Sputnik II went into orbit with a live passenger - a small dog connected to various telemetry instruments to try to gain a better understanding of the effects of space travel on living organisms. The space race was on - and America didn't even have its sneakers on yet. Sputnik and Sputnik II were a huge wake-up call for the American scientific community including Amateur Radio. By 1960, the first OSCAR (Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) satellite was in orbit and American Hams were in the Satellite Communications game.

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