Did tonight's PBS NOVA Sputnik show have a glaring tech error?

In the animated views of Sputnik in orbit, they show it orbiting, for
all I can tell, from East to West. I always thought all rockets bound
for orbit were launched Eastward so as to get an extra kick from
Earth's rotation, good for extra payload or altitude over shooting in
the Westward direction. I suppose the R7 could have been launched
Westward as a subtle hint that it was so powerful an ICBM that it
could be launched in any direction the soviets wanted, but this was
not discussed in the show AFAIK.

Am I right or uninformed about which way Sputnik was launched?

For a bonus question, how many if any sats are/have been launched
Westward, and why?

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Did tonights PBS NOVA Sputnik show have a glaring tech error?
    ... for orbit were launched Eastward so as to get an extra kick from ... the Westward direction. ... Westward as a subtle hint that it was so powerful an ICBM that it ... Probably the show's producers weren't even born when sputnik flew, and thus they were denied a reasonable post sputnik era secondary education. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Did tonights PBS NOVA Sputnik show have a glaring tech error?
    ... the Westward direction. ... Westward as a subtle hint that it was so powerful an ICBM that it ... near-polar orbit spacecraft count, of which there have been many. ... Israeli launches its satellites westward over the Mediterranean for range safety purposes. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Fifty years since Sputnik
    ... but Sputnik was in orbit at the 4th October 1957, so let us wait the remaining months... ... also to cell phones, federally guaranteed student loans, and the wireless ... space age in dramatic detail, bringing it to life as never before". ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: Any confirmed naked-eye Sputnik sightings?
    ... >Did the payload shroud also go into orbit? ... >might have been seen by observers. ... Sputnik itself- and of course far lighter in weight (Sputnik was a heavy ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Fifty years since Sputnik
    ... Fifty years since Sputnik ... but Sputnik was in orbit at the 4th October 1957, ... Got my hands on an excellent book "Red Moon Rising" by Matthew ... Brzezinski. ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)