<human>:  Why was the first communication satellite called Sputnik?
<bot>: The name Sputnik comes from the Russian word for “traveling companion”. The Sputnik satellite was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, and was the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. The Sputnik satellite was the first of the series of satellites called the “Sputnik” satellites, which were the first artificial satellites to orbit the Earth.