Esimene satelliit Sputnik 1 lennutati Kasahstanist üksildasest stardipaigast, mis paikneb Araali merest idas. See sai tuntuks Bajkongõri (Baikonuri) kosmodroomina, ehkki on sellenimelisest kohast 400 km kaugusel.
Under an overcast sky, the heavy-lift Proton's six first-stage engines ignited at 5:31 a.m. EDT (GMT-4; 3:31 p.m. local time), throttled up to full thrust and majestically pushed the 191-foot-tall booster away from its firing stand at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
