Into Space

Sputnik launch changed everything

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the end of World War II and no doubt introduced the world to the horrors of the prospect of nuclear annihilation and sparked decades of an arms race that persists to this day.

The Oct. 4, 1957, launch of a 184-pound device about the size of a basketball, however, was the catalyst that began not only a space race but further pushed the world’s superpowers into a competition to gain military superiority.

When Sputnik I was hurled into space by the Soviet Union 50 years ago it produced a combination of fear and wonder. U.S. students, already convinced that a nuclear attack was imminent, had grown accustomed to the duck-and-cover drills. A more accurate drill probably would have been run-and-scream-for-30- seconds- before-you’re-toast. That, however, would have been counter- productive.

Americans, not to let anything get in the way of a chance to make a buck, produced everything from Sputnik bubble gum to toys. Americans stung by being beaten into space were at the same time enthralled by a real space ship. Millions stood in their backyards hoping to catch a glimpse of the tiny blinking light going overhead in the night sky.

Nevertheless, the Sputnik launch stunned the world and especially the American public accustomed to being the top dog in the science department.

Being beaten by the Russians at anything did not sit well with the public or politicians. It sharpened U.S. resolve to reclaim the No. 1 position and eventually led to the U.S. moon landing, which progressed to today’s space shuttle program.

Space exploration is all but routine these days. Two horrible explosions of space shuttles, however, reminds that it is far from routine.

Humankind’s leap into space, of course, was inevitable, as was the development of nuclear weapons.

Oct. 4, 1957, was a watershed moment in history. The conquest, or at least the research, of space began when that tiny, antennaed ball defied the constraints of our world and thrust itself into the great unknown.

Originally published by World Editorial Writers.

(c) 2007 Tulsa World. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.