Sputnik Day - October 4 - 1957

Sputnik was a projectile about the size of a 23-inch beach ball. It had a radio in it that sent a simple "beep" signal back to earth. It scared the daylights out of everyone. The radio battery died quickly - the satellite eventually fell to earth burning up in the atmosphere.

Thanks to the Soviet Union launching Sputnik on this day in 1957 - the United States dumped a whole lot of money into studying Earth and Space Science. The National Defense Education Act provided funds to study the sciences and the whole space race intrigued a whole generation of kids to study about Outer Space. I went to Kutztown State Teachers College - and quickly transferred from being a math major to earn a teaching license in Earth and Space Science. 

For 33 years - I taught Earth and Space Science at Panther Valley Middle School. It was a a lot of fun - we received a lot of teaching materials from NASA. Teaching a subject that was in the news every day was exciting for both the kids and me. I bought a bus and we made many field trips to Cape Canaveral from my home in Pennsylvania - a 2000 miles round trip. When I retired - they changed the Earth and Space Science course to the politically correct Environmental Science. 

Happy Sputnik Day

Wikipedia - The successful launch of the unmanned satellite Sputnik I by the Soviet Union in October 1957 shocks and frightens many Americans. As the tiny satellite orbited the earth, Americans reacted with dismay that the Soviets could have gotten so far ahead of the supposedly technologically superior United States. There was also fear that with their new invention, the Soviets had gained the upper hand in the arms race. In addition, such a show of technological prowess could only help the USSR in its efforts to achieve closer economic and political relations with third world nations in Africa and Asia.

Democrats scorched the Republican administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower for allowing the United States to fall so far behind the communists. Eisenhower responded by speeding up the U.S. space program, which resulted in the launching of the satellite Explorer I on January 31, 1958. The "space race" had begun.