October 4th, 1957

On this day fifty-four years ago, Sputnik I was launched into space by the Soviets. It was the first artificial satellite to orbit the planet. The successful launching initiated the Space Race, a competition focused on space exploration between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Because the Soviets had beaten the US in launching first, Americans were embarrassed. This spurred a need to win.

This event was beneficial to our world. The launching marked the start of the Space Race, which soon lead to the landing of the first man on the moon and huge advances in technology and education.

I appreciate the launching of Sputnik I into space because it opened up another field of science and had an advantageous effect on technology. Although I feel like the US and the Soviet Union had accomplished so much in such a small interval of time because of a competition, overall the space exploration was a huge success.