Manitowoc, Wisconsin: Sputnik Crashed Here

A monument in the sidewalk and a circle in the street mark the spot where a Soviet satellite smacked down. A replica of the space junk is displayed a few steps away in an art museum. Festival held on the anniversary.

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik IV into space in 1960. When it fell out of orbit two years later, the largest chunk that survived -- a 20-pound hunk of metal -- crashed into 8th Street on the north side of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, just outside what is now the Rahr-West Art Museum. That was on September 6, 1962. A replica of the hunk is displayed inside the museum, a monument stands next to the sidewalk, and a metal ring is embedded into the street to mark Sputnik's impact point. When we asked in 2022 at the Museum if the ring could be endangered by the passage of time, we were assured that the city thinks too highly of its claim to Space Race fame to ever pave over it.

A fun little pit stop to see the placard! Also worth taking a few extra minutes to look in the Rahr-West Art Museum (free/donations) to learn more about Sputnik, look at lovely art, and explore the historic mansion while you're here.

In addition to the large part of Sputnik IV falling on the center line of my hometown's main thoroughfare (as covered in your story), a small piece of the satellite went through the roof of the church a couple hundred feet farther south, causing some minor damage. My father was a church trustee at the time, and was among those who filed an insurance claim for the damage. This likely was the first instance of a claim filed for space debris.

I saw your article about the Sputnik and wanted to let you know that we have a replica of it at the Manitowoc Area Visitor and Convention Bureau. I work at the Visitor Center.