Sputnik Impact

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The tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union that existed during the years after WWII led to an era of great rivalry between the two countries, which was not only characterized by the political and social changes but also by technological and scientific innovation. So when the Soviets launched the first artificial satellite it meant a new frontier in a Cold War: space. Historians have argued whether the launch of the first satellite was a significant event in the course of the Cold War. Directly leading to the Space Race, the launch of Sputnik played an important role in the development of the conflict between two nuclear superpowers, but overall it did not really have a big effect on the course of the Cold War. While simultaneously…show more content…
The launch of the first satellite was the beginning of the longstanding battle for domination between American and Soviet minds. Sputnik I was a series of artificial satellites launched by the USSR. Sputnik was a very rudimentary satellite that held no military implications and was only able to transmit some basic temperature and pressure measurements to the Earth. Nonetheless it caused a lot of panic amongst Americans who were concerned about the Soviet ability to launch a surprise attack on the U.S. using their new technology. Americans had always had a strong sense of national security since they were isolated from the rest of the world by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The popular opinion was that Soviets were going to use their satellite for military purposes, which was a potential threat to the U.S. There was a general feeling of hysteria, as N.A.S.A. historian Roger Launius noted. When the Sputnik was launched the American scientific community was shocked that "the clod-hopping Russians could surpass the U.S. in a vanguard technology".…show more content…
The launch of Sputnik caused fear that the U.S. was falling behind U.S.S.R. in technological capability. The rapidly developing space program in the U.S.S.R. led to many people in the U.S. and around the globe to question the American superiority. The scientific community had explanation of why U.S.S.R., a communist nation, could beat the Untied States into space. The U.S. Information Agency in its assessment of the impact of the USSR space programs on public opinion said: "The most significant and enduring result, for world public opinion, of the launching of the first earth satellite by the U.S.S.R. was a revolutionary revision of estimates of Soviet power and standing. Prior to the launching of Sputnik I there was very general belief that the Soviet Union was a long way from offering a serious challenge to the U.S. lead in science, technology, and productive power. Sputnik and subsequent Soviet space achievements appeared as a dramatic demonstration that the U.S.S.R. was able to challenge the U.S. successfully in an endeavor where U.S. pre-eminence had been widely taken for granted. Sputnik worked a major modification in the world image of the U.S.S.R.". Nikita Khrushchev contributed to the tensions by suggesting that 40 years after the Russian Revolution U.S.S.R. finally proved that communism was the best system for intellectual development. Previously the launch of the
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