#Space Sputnik was the Soviet contribution to the International Geophysical Year, which coordinated the nations of the world to conduct research into the geology and physics of Earth. Both the US and USSR had agreed to launch the world's first artificial satellites to study the planet.
For those paying attention to the IGY, Sputnik was no surprise. But for the uninformed American public, it was a metaphor for the Soviet nuclear threat because Sputnik was launched by an ICBM. (3/x)
#Space There was no panic at first but, as the American media cranked up the hysteria, Khrushchev realized there was propaganda value in turning up the volume so he started making outlandish statements to embarrass the American public. Ike tried to convince the nation there was nothing to worry about it, but failed. (4/x)
#Space This is the Orlando Evening Star's front page, Monday October 7, 1957. The #Sputnik fallout has begun. The lead story from #AP blames the Pentagon for not having used von Braun's Army Jupiter C missile to launch a satellite first.
The Eisenhower administration had rejected the Jupiter C in favor of a civilian rocket, part of a new project called Vanguard. Using a military rocket for the civilian IGY was thought to appear belligerent. The Soviets had no problem using an ICBM. (6/6)
@WordsmithFL I was four years old, that story was HUGE for it to penetrate the consciousness of a 4 year old. I even had a Sputnik toy with 8 suction cups on it that no one in my family could make climb up the wall like the ads showed.
Sputnik is what Rostow claimed was the starting point for the Vietnam war. Never mind that the US had people in Vietnam conducting psyops during the 1954 election. At least that's what I recall from Karnow's book.
@Sr0bi I just don't see that at all. Vietnam has a long and complicated history. Sputnik was a blip (as well as a beep) on the history radar. From the US perspective, all it really did was lead to the creation of #NASA. #JFK used it as a rhetorical bludgeon to claim the US was suffering from a "missile gap" which wasn't true, but it got him elected. #LBJ was the one who ratcheted up US involvement in Vietnam, for reasons that had nothing to do with Sputnik.
True about Sputnik but by the time LBJ arrived it would have been hard to get off the path that Ike had started down even for JFK. Then when you add in the advice of people like Rostow and Westmoreland, it was not going to end well.
@Sr0bi IMO it went off the rails after the US and France partitioned Vietnam with the promise of elections, only to renege on the promise because they knew the Communists would win.
Yes, all of that.
And prior when when the Brits were put in control of Vietnam as Japan surrendered but they handed it back over to France.
Or when Ho wanted to implement a US style constitution but no one would meet with him.
#Space This is the front page of the #NYTimes on October 5, 1957. #Sputnik is the dominant story. (5/x)