The Russians
Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 were artificial satellites that traveled around the Earth. People thought that Sputnik 1 was spying on them, but all it did was transmit a simple tracking signal for 3 weeks.
They thought it was a Russian spy satellite
No, the Russian's Sputnik was unmanned.
Sputnik was the "family name" for a series of satellites, so there never was a satellite named only Sputnik. They all had numbers with Sputnik 1 being the first.
The Russians
USSR
The only people really involved in the Space Race was the US and the USSR.
Sputnik I? The Russian (Soviet Union) satellite? Well, the Soviet Union had successfully launched this satellite, so the Russians were indeed involved. I am pretty sure that only the Soviet Union was involved (even though Sputnik I was part of the Space Race, the American people did not have anything to do with the satellite).
No one was onboard Sputnik, it was an unmanned satellite.
Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 were artificial satellites that traveled around the Earth. People thought that Sputnik 1 was spying on them, but all it did was transmit a simple tracking signal for 3 weeks.
They thought it was a Russian spy satellite
Because the Sputnik program ended with Sputnik 3. Albeit there was a Sputnik 40 and 41 but these were to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Sputnik 1.
sputnik
No, the Russian's Sputnik was unmanned.
Sputnik was the "family name" for a series of satellites, so there never was a satellite named only Sputnik. They all had numbers with Sputnik 1 being the first.
Yes, the Soviet satellite called Sputnik in the English-speaking world was visible in the US, and many people went out at night to try to spot it.