Sputnik Crash Site

The Sputnik Crash Site is a metal ring set into the sidewalk in downtown Manitowoc, Wisconsin, marking the spot where a roughly 20-pound piece of the Soviet satellite Korabl-Sputnik 1 (also called Sputnik 4) landed on September 5, 1962. The satellite had launched on May 15, 1960, and a failed deorbit attempt days later sent its descent module into an unstable orbit that eventually decayed and scattered debris over the town. The local newspaper, the Manitowoc Herald-Times, documented the marker in a January 26, 1978 article, and a piece of the recovered debris is now held at the nearby Rahr-West Art Museum.