What happened in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in September 1962?

On September 6, 1962, a 20-pound smoldering hunk of the Soviet Union's five-ton Sputnik IV satellite dropped into the middle of the street on the corner of North 8th and Park streets in front of the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The hunk was forwarded to the Smithsonian-Harvard Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which confirmed that it was a piece of a satellite. An attempt to return the hunk to its owner was initially rebuffed by the Soviet Union. At first, they called the effort a "circus trick" but eventually accepted the fact. On January 5, 1963, representatives of the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., formally took back what was left of their 5-ton spacecraft.

On November 15, 1963, the International Association of Machinists embedded a brass ring in the 8th Street to mark the exact spot where the piece of Sputnik had fallen. There is also a granite marker on the sidewalk next to the Rahr-West Art Museum where the replica of the object is displayed.

Since 2008, Manitowoc has celebrated the event with Sputnikfest. Named one of the Top Five Funkiest Festivals in the country by Readers Digest, this Wacky Tacky Festival is fast becoming a community favorite, with fun for the entire family.