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The launch of Sputnik was part of a series of Soviet technological successes. At 184 pounds, the Soviet satellite was much heavier than anything the United States was developing at the time. Soon afterward, the Soviet Union launched two more satellites. One carried a dog into space. Together, these orbited Earth every 90 minutes. They created fear that the United States lagged far behind in technology. These concerns grew when the Soviet Union tested a long-distance missile that same year.
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Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik (Russian for “traveler”), the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans.
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At last, on January 31, 1958, the United States succeeded in launching its first satellite, the Explorer. The Explorer was smaller than Sputnik.
When John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, the United Space fell further behind. The Soviets had already placed a dog in space. Now in Kennedy’s first year on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to orbit the Earth. -
Many prepared for a Soviet attack with bomb shelters and “duck and cover” drills in school where kids would quickly hide under their desks to prepare for a possible nuclear bomb attack.
Thousands rushed to stores to purchase bomb shelter kits. Congress created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 and set aside money for science education -
In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. His famous quote is, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
