Sputnik and the Birth of the Space Race

Launched on October 4th, 1957, Sputnik was the first manmade object to orbit in outer space, and while the Soviet’s Satellite sent out nothing more menacing than innocent radio signals, what terrified Americans was the rocket that propelled Sputnik into low-earth orbit.

Soviet leaders were quick to point out that the rocket that carried Sputnik into space was equally capable of launching nuclear warheads at their Cold War enemies in the West. American exceptionalism became instantly strained by the Soviet’s boast, terrifying average Americans and politicians alike with the fact that America had been caught flat-footed in the face of the Soviet’s early lead into Space.

The Space Race Stumbles Towards Finish Line

The very public failure of America’s own satellite, the Vanguard TV3 on December 6th, 1957 only served to heighten the public’s perception that the U.S. lagged far behind the Soviets when it came to potential military dominance in space.

On January 31st, 1958, America finally achieved some degree of parity with the Soviets after the successful launch of Explorer 1 by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. Despite this early success, however, President Eisenhower urged his countrymen to react with resourcefulness and vigor, while his administration further led the charge by dismantling The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and replacing it with NASA on October the 1st, 1958.

From that day onward, America would steadily out-perform the Soviet’s space program with its compelling successes during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned space flights, which would ultimately beat the Russians to the moon when on July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong first set foot on the lunar surface.

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Neil Armstrong