Do young Americans even know Sputnik? It happened sixty years ago and it changed the course of human history. The launch of a man-made satellite from Earth into space orbit by the Soviet Union ignited the space race that led Americans to the Moon and beyond. Arguably, it also led to incredible advances in technology that the smart-phone-toting-young take for granted. But that’s progress. And we are progressing still. As Dr David Alexander of Rice University pointed out on Houston’s Morning News, America is already on Mars….with robots and humans are certainly on pace to go themselves.
Sputnik. It was revolutionary. 60 years ago.