The race is on.....

The Race begins -

On Oct 4, 1957, the world changed. The Soviet Union launched the first man-made object into orbit. It sent back “beeps” that were designed to reveal information about the density of the upper atmosphere. As Sputnik circled the Earth for 92 days, people watched and listened. The “new moon” as some called it caused a sense of “amazement and shock” that ignited the space race.

Amazement:

Everyone knew the United States and the Soviet Union were planning to launch a satellite. The Russians, however, launched their satellite sooner than anyone expected. When the word was released of the 183 lb satellite’s flight, the news media scrambled for information, amateur radio operators turned their sets to the frequency Sputnik was broadcasting, and people turned their eyes to the night sky to watch the satellite pass.

Shock:

From 1945-1989 the Soviet Union and the Unite States were locked in an ideological conflict that fell short of full scale war. This heated clash over social and political values made both sides feared a nuclear attack by their “enemy.” The Sputnik launch fueled these worries. It was reasoned that if the Soviet Union could launch a satellite into space, they could launch an atomic bomb to anywhere in the United States.

Did you know---?

Some historians believe that Eisenhower, the President at the time, was relieved and perhaps even glad that the Russians launched the first satellite? Since Sputnik crossed over the US and we didn’t complain, the concept of “free space” was established. The US could now launch “spy” satellites over Russia with out the fear that they would say we violated their air space.