Sputnik's Legacy
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| Audience/Grade: | 6th Grade - High School Senior |
| Discipline(s): |
Aerospace Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): |
History of Technology |
| Learning Resource Type: | Reference - Article/Document |
| Author(s): | whyfiles |
| Description: | The little satellite that changed everything. Article hosted by NSF-funded whyfiles. It begins: "For a 184-pound aluminum sphere that spent just three months in orbit and didn't do much more than emit radio beeps, Sputnik I was one big deal. Blasted into space at the height of the Cold War on Oct. 4, 1957, Sputnik was Earth's first artificial satellite. To an America that considered itself technological wizard numero uno, the news was a jolt. How bad? Think about seeing a rip in your bungee-jumping cord -- about two seconds too late. After Sputnik, the exciting ride of the Cold War became a dangerous, arduous race to technology. By demonstrating an ominous -- but short-lived -- Soviet lead in rocketry, Sputnik intensified the terror over nuclear annihilation. Coming at a time when science -- and its products like penicillin, radar and the atomic bomb -- was credited with helping win World War II, Sputnik raised the prospect that Red scientists might win the Cold War." |
| Rating: | No Rating |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(h) Understand global, economic, environmental, and societal context |
| Use of Resource: | Article organized in 4 sections: Sputnik in orbit, Science education blasts off, Equipment failure in the classroom? Wanted: another Sputnik. |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
| Interactivity Level: | Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | 2007 |
| Platform/Format: | WWW |
| Cost: | Free |
| Download URL: | http://whyfiles.org/047sputnik/index.html |
| Metadata: | IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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