The Soviet Satellite That Shook America

🚀 Part 2 of 3: The Cold War Trilogy ← Part 1 (Klaus Fuchs): https://youtube.com/shorts/7BMhq-tsdlY?feature=share → Part 3 (Cuban Missile Crisis): https://youtube.com/shorts/4-qXcXEfl2s?feature=share October 4, 1957. Americans looked up and saw a Soviet satellite orbiting above them—beeping every 96 minutes like a ticking time bomb. Sputnik wasn't just about space. If the USSR could launch a satellite over American cities, they could launch a nuclear warhead. The panic was immediate. Newspapers called it a "Pearl Harbor moment." Congress held emergency sessions. Parents feared Soviet missiles raining down on their children. President Eisenhower's response was swift. Within months, NASA was born. The space race had begun. One Soviet satellite terrified a nation into greatness—and changed the world forever. --- 📚 Sources: National Archives, NASA Historical Records, Congressional Records 1957 🔔 Part 3 drops Friday—the 13 days that nearly ended civilization.