Following World War II, the United States and Soviet Union developed an adversarial relationship with each trying to outdo the other in terms of military strength. At one point, Premier Nikita Khrushchev declared, “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!” Americans feared what might happen if the communist nation ever initiated a nuclear attack against us, and it came as a nasty jolt when, on October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite into space. As I wrote in Great Events in American History, author Tom Wolfe observed, “Nothing less than control of the heavens was at stake. (Sputnik) was Armageddon, the final and decisive battle between good and evil.”
As the satellite orbited the earth, many Americans went outside at night to try and catch a glimpse of it orbiting overhead. Teenager Homer Hickam, Jr. of Coalwood, West Virginia remembered the night vividly, writing of it in his memoir Rocket Boys:
I saw the bright little ball, moving majestically across the narrow field between the
ridgelines. I stared at it with no less rapt attention than if it had been God Himself in
a golden chariot riding overhead. It soared with what seemed to me inexorable and dangerous purpose, as if there were no power in the universe that could stop it.
In November, the Soviets launched a second satellite; Sputnik spent itself by the end of October and disintegrated as it fell back to earth. On December 19, the U.S. got its chance, sending SCORE into space (Signal Communications Orbit Relay Equipment.) Aboard it carried a tape recorded Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower that used words from the Bible to show that America’s reason for venturing into space was a peaceful one:
This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific
advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one. Through this unique means I will convey to you and to all mankind America’s wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere.
Tags: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Homer Hickam, Sputnik
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