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oct 4, 1957 - Sputnik

Description:

Sputnik I was the first satellite to orbit Earth sent by Russia and caught everyone by surprise. The announcement of the satellite immediately put NASA to work towards creating their own satellite or better yet, sending a man to the moon which would later occur. Sputnik caused the U.S. to view Russia as a threat because of the way it caused Americans to feel which was that Russia would be capable of sending missiles to the U.S. This clearly influenced the increase in tension between the U.S. and Russia during the War and began the Space Race. This can be seen as a change in the actions of the U.S. because now, deeply frightened, they needed to keep up with Russia in order to survive the war.

Added to timeline:

Date:

oct 4, 1957
Now
~ 68 years ago