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Description:
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On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into Earth orbit. This 184-pound, basketball-sized sphere ushered in the era of the space race. At the height of the Cold War and several months into the International Geophysical Year, the Soviet Union had beaten the United States into space -a symbolically shocking achievement. In the immediate aftermath, the NASA was created. The real significance of the Sputnik 1 launch can be seen over the long term, however, as the race for human exploration of the Moon began in the late 1950s, global satellite communications became a reality in the 1960s, and new generations of scientific spacecraft began exploring the universe.
Reconsidering Sputnik is a collection of essays in three major sections. In the first part, historians of the Soviet Union explore the reasons for the stunning success of Sputnik. In the second part, scholars explore the origins and development of the International Geophysical Year and how it related to the larger questions of national security, international prestige, and scientific advancement. Finally, in the last part, scholars investigate the long-term ramifications of the satellite. An introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize winner Walter A. McDougall sets the context for Sputnik and its significance at the end of the twentieth century.
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