Sputnik Stamp

Soviet stamp shows Sputnik 1, unknown artist, 1957, source: Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sputnik-stamp-ussr.jpg, public domain.

The successful launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik ("satellite" or literally "fellow traveller"), in 1957 was widely perceived as an early victory by the Soviet Union in the "space race".

Soviet stamp showing Sputnik 1, 1957, unknown artist; source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.