1 Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to go into orbit, launched 4 October 1957. 2  Sputnik 2, the first spacecraft to carry a living animal (the dog Laika), launched 3 November 1957.  Sputnik 3, a research satellite launched 15 May 1958.
By population the 3 largest cities in Spain are Madrid 2.9 million, Barcelona 1.5 million, and Valencia 741,000. They include: the capital Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Onlyâ¦ two  of Spain's cities, the national capital Madrid and Barcelona, have  populations of more than one million.
The city is the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia and is the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid. The city's origins date back to when it was founded as a Roman city and then in the Middle Ages it became the capital of the County of Barcelona.