another illusion shattered

I had always thought that the word beep, or possibly bleep, was coined to describe the sounds produced by Sputnik 1 (hear here), launched in 1957.
Now, looking at the OED, I see they give first or early usages thus:

beep:   Did you ever hear them talk about auto-horns? There's a toot-toot, and a beep-beep. 1929 E. Wilson, I Thought of Daisy.

bleep:  The bleeps of Geiger counters make 'penny stocks' on the country's exchanges palpitate into investors' bonanzas. 1953 N.Y. Herald-Tribune.

And the meaning of sputnik, usually given as 'fellow-traveller'? One who travels, a travelnik.

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