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Sputnik Research Paper

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The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I on October 4, 1957. This first artificial satellite weighed about one-hundred eighty-four pounds, took ninety-eight minutes to orbit the earth, was silver in color, and was about the size of a beach ball. Despite it not being able to do much more than orbit the earth and transmit beeps, Sputnik I had one of the most unprecedented impacts on the United States.1The single launch of Sputnik I, initiated the United States vs. Soviet Union space race, which resulted in many military, political, technological and scientific advancements. Sputnik caught America off guard; it sparked worries of a nuclear war from the Soviet Union as well. Since the U.S. knew that they had this technological and scientific …show more content…

Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower had large participation in the growth of America during this time. Kennedy had much more to say on the topic than Eisenhower. Kennedy pressured the United States to keep the meaning of “space race” true, which meant that America needed to stay ahead of Russian advancements.5 “We all remember President Kennedy saying, ‘I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal... of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.”6 The U.S. lost the race to get a satellite to orbit the earth, getting a man to go to the moon and back was the next mission. Kennedy had an extremely adamant approach to this dilemma; Eisenhower, on the other hand, was more reluctant to act on the issue. Eisenhower ran for presidency in 1952 hoping that his wartime service would show America that he had the capability of leading the nation. However, the launch of Sputnik caused for many people to question how assertive President Eisenhower actually was. Despite his doubts, Eisenhower requested that Congress make the National Astronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The introduction of the NASA Space Program catapulted America into the space age and competition with the Soviet Union to get the first man on the moon. All because of the launch of one small satellite, the United States changed

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