The Soviet Union launched Sputnik-1 on October the 5th, 1957 and in so doing kicked the Space Race into high gear – where it would remain for over a decade until the Americans landed Buzz and Neil on the Moon in 1969 and took the crown.
This Sputnik-1 model was built in 1957 as a prototype test model for ground Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electromagnetic Interference (AMI) testing. It’s the exact size, weight, and specification as the Sputnik-1 that was launched into space – but of course the original was burnt up in the atmosphere on re-entry in 1958.
Just 4 official prototypes of the Sputnik-1 were built, and this is thought to be the only one with a working transmitter. It’s due to be offered for sale by Bonhams at the upcoming Space History Sale on the 20th of July. The estimated value is between $10,000 USD and $15,000 USD – which seems like a bargain for such a significant piece of world history.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
This is an original 1948 Tucker engine, the Tucker 48 is undoubtably one of the most famous low-production number cars of the 20th century and it was powered by a re-purposed 5.5 litre helicopter engine. The car was made famous in mainstream society thanks to the film Tucker: The Man and His Dream by…
This Dodge 426 Hemi V8 was constructed by the factory back in the late 1960s as a cutaway display engine for the car show circuit. Display engines like this require an enormous amount of work to get right, carefully pre-planned sections need to be expertly cut, milled, and polished in order to expose the internal…
The Harley-Davidson VR1000 was a race bike developed in the late-1980s and early-1990s to take on the best in the world. We don’t typically associate the American motorcycle maker with performance machines, but the VR1000 was an exception to this – with a 996cc 60º, liquid-cooled V-twin, quad cams (double overhead per cylinder), four valves per…
The Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 is almost certainly the most famous aircraft engine in history, I’m sure there are other contenders of course but I’m convinced the Merlin has them beat. Although most believe the engine is named for the famous wizard of the same name from the legend of King Arthur, it’s actually named after…
Above image used for display purposes only, courtesy of Ferrari. It isn’t every day that a Ferrari F40 engine pops up for sale on eBay, it’s likely targeted at current or prospective F40 owners who want a spare engine or complete spares package however there’s a chance it’ll end up with someone planning an ambitious…
The Jenvey Heritage DCOE throttle body was developed to evoke the styling of the classic Weber DCOE – the acronym stands for “Doppio Corpo Orizzontale E” which means “double body horizontal” in Italian. The Weber DCOE was fitted to countless high-performance engines over the decades, and they’re one of the most common carburettors for use in…
