Operation PaperclipDuring World War II, there became much more of a focus on using rockets to send bombs across enemy lines. The Germans were the most advanced when it came to rocket design and created the first liquid-propellant-fueled rocket, the 'V-2.' The United States realized this and brought several V-2 rockets back to the States after the war. They then launched "Operation Paperclip" which was a secretive effort to recruit German scientists to assist in their rocket research and development. (3)
|
Fears of CommunismDuring the Cold War, there was a widespread fear of communism in the United States. In the mid-1940s, America shifted its foreign policy to what became known as "containment." The goal of the policy was to prevent the spread of communist ideals. (4) Many Americans thought that the country needed to prove the superiority of Western Capitalism over Soviet Communism. This urge to prove US superiority would be evident in the country's response to the launch of Sputnik. (5)
|
Telemetry from Sputnik I (11) | |
File Size: | 113 kb |
File Type: | wav |
For many Americans, the launching of Sputnik was a wake-up call. The U.S. space program, which was formerly only a realm of scientists and engineers, was now important to everyday Americans. (12) People figured that if the Soviets had the rocket capabilities to thrust a 83.6 kg sphere into a low elliptical orbit, they could surely launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICMB, and have it reach the United States. Future US president and Senate majority leader at the time, Lyndon B. Johnson, echoed the American's fear when he said of the Russians, “Soon, they will be dropping bombs on us from space like kids dropping rocks onto cars from freeway overpasses." (13)
|
A month after Sputnik I was launched, Sputnik II entered Earth's orbit, this time carrying a dog named Laika. In a hurried attempt to catch up, the United States launched the Vanguard rocket on December 6, 1957. The rocket rose four feet in the air before crashing back down to the launch pad. This failed attempt quickly garnered nicknames, including "Flopnick" and "Kuputnick." (18)
With the country engulfed in fear and panic after the launching of Sputnik and and the failure of the Vanguard rocket, President Eisenhower and US officials rushed to create a space program in an attempt to "salvage some national pride and international prestige." (19) |