Sputnik declassified [videorecording] / a Nova production by Lone Wolf Documentary Group for WGBH/Boston ; produced by Rushmore DeNooyer and Kirk Wolfinger ; written and directed by Rushmore DeNooyer.
Originally broadcast by PBS television in 2007. Special features: printable materials for educators; access to the Nova web site.
Summary:
On October 4, 1957, the space age dawned with the red hue of the Communist flag when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite. Sputnik stunned the world and spurred the U.S. into massive spending on science education and innovation. Fierce political and personal rivalries collided over how and when the U.S. should enter space. President Eisenhower wanted a satellite to spy on the Russians but feared their response to an overtly military program. That led him to sideline the plans of Wernher von Braun, the leader of the U.S. Army's pioneering rocket team.
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