the united states response to the successful orbit of sputnik in 1957 was to
Sputnik crisis The Sputnik crisis was a period of public fear and anxiety about the perceived technological gap between the United States and Soviet Union caused by the launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet space program.[1] The crisis was a key event in the early Cold War that triggered the creation of NASA and Space Race between the two superpowers. The satellite was launched on October 4, 1957 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The term was coined by then US President Dwight D. Eisenhower.[citation needed]
Sputnik 2 Sputnik 2 reentered the Earth's atmosphere 14 April 1958, at approximately 0200 hrs, on a line that stretched from New York to the Amazon. Its track was plotted by British ships and 3 “Moon Watch Observations”, from New York. It was said to be glowing and did not develop a tail until it was at latitudes south of 20 degrees North. Estimates put the average length of the tail at about 50 nautical miles. The satellite burned up in the atmosphere.[22]