The superpower competition in
space exploration technology that paralleled the
Cold War competition in arms developments. Coming
on the heels of the Soviet Union's hydrogen bomb
tests, Sputnik shocked and stunned the American
public. In our 1950s smug American world we found
it hard to believe that the Russians were beating
us into space. We stood outside and looked up
into the sky when Sputnik was due to pass over
in the foolish hope of catching a glimpse of this
new moon. It gave us a creepy feeling to have
the Russian satellite up there, looking back at
us.
USSR continued its lead in space exploration
with the first person in space, cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin who orbited earth in Vostok 1, April 12,
1961. Less than a month later Allan Shepard became
the first American in space. That same month,
President Kennedy created the Apollo program designed
to land a person on the moon "before the decade
is out."
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