Sputnik, 1957. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The successful launch came as a shock to experts and ... read more
The Sputnik dominated headlines for weeks, maybe months, as we set out to catch up. The Democrats made political hay out of it and concern for the "missile gap" became one of JFK's campaign issues. One of the biggest fears was the concern the Russians could launch nuclear weapons at us. But the reality is there wasn't much catchup to do. read more
The launch of Sputnik I in 1957 was significant because it ignited the Space Race within the Cold War. Before then, no country in the world had satellites orbiting Earth; with both Russia and USA competing for this title, USA was sent into a panic when Russia achieved this. read more