Question by Joseph F: Why was the launch of Sputnik I in 1957 so significant?What did it’s launch mean for Americans?
i need an accurate answer because i have to do an essay please help! lol
Answers and Views:
Answer by c f
It was the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. The U.S. attempted earlier to launch satelites, but failed. Add to that, the Cold War and you got drama.
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What do you think?
greydoc6 says
Sputnik was a wake-up call for America. It was almost a complete surprise to the American people, proof that the Russians had surpassed us in space technology. Our rushed efforts to repeat the feat failed abysmally.
Both Russian and US technology relied on German scientists who worked on the V2 rocket in WWII. Comedian Bob Hope quipped that the Russian's German scientists were better than our German scientists.
Sputnik was an alleged indictment on our educational system, that we were too lax, that we were not producing enough scientists and engineers.
One eventual benefit of Sputnik was our efforts at miniaturization. Since we could not put the same heavy payloads into space that the Russians could, we devised micro-miniaturization.
Smithsonian says
When Russia launched Sputnik in 1957 the whole nation was concerned. The reason, Russia had the capability to destroy the U.S. (so thought the U.S. people) This was also during the middle of the Cold War at its intensity peak.
Ranger473 says
It not only demonstrated that the Russians were ahead in the race for space but that they now had a means that they could deliver a nuclear weapon via missile, something we did not have. This was a dramatic shift in power in the arms race.
efw says
It meant the Cold War and the threat of intercontinental weapons reached an all new and terrifying level. Terrifying for us, since we did not have an immediate answer.