As news of Sputnik spread throughout the world, it shocked and astounded the world. The ironic part is that the Russian government announced to their subjects that they could track and monitor the satellite in orbit. The success of an artificial moon amazed the world; it shifted the balance of power from United States of America to the U.S.S.R., and marked the beginning of the Space Age (Walter 85).
After the great success of Sputnik I, Russia launched a series of other Sputniks. Each mission was accompanied by animals, the first animal was Laika. The dog's life status was monitored and once again Russia amazed the world and improved that if a dog's life could be sustained in space so could a human's life.
While America was screening test flight pilots from the air force to see who would be the first American in space, America was not able to accomplish this feat, only experienced pilots that can endear the forces of launching a rocket. After numerous accomplishments, launching Sputniks and animals into space, it was no surprise Russia would place a man in space. On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin did just that and became the first man to go into space (Neal 29).
When America was just starting their own space program Russia was well into theirs. It was humiliating to America that her long time foe, Russia was ahead in technology. America later stepped up, and became a worthy adversary to Russia. The U.S. began looking for engineers, funding, and a place to conduct testing and launching. .
When America decided to have a space program, it established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (N.A.C.A.) and it started from military tests in the desert of New Mexico (Murray 26). As the U.S. made progress, the Space Program shifted from a military to a civilian project. America was looking for bright engineers, physicists, and anyone else who can benefit the space program. The only test facility was the one at Langley, Virginia where high-speed engines were tested in a wind tunnel, but the facility was not up to date.
