End of Transmission and Decay

The batteries of Sputnik 1 were depleted after 22 days, on October 26, 1957, and the satellite continued to orbit the Earth silently from then on. It remained in orbit for a total of 92 days before burning up on reentry into the atmosphere on January 4, 1958.

During that time it circled the Earth approximately 1,440 times and covered roughly 70 million kilometers. Its launch is today regarded as the official beginning of the Space Age.