Wasn't there recently a thread on this?
Were you afraid that the USSR ...? Were you upset because the US was not first ...? Were you mad because politics stopped the US from being first
afraid that USA might launch nuclear weapons on us.
Quote from: SpaceRocketHistory on 04/24/2013 03:30 pmWere you afraid that the USSR ...? Were you upset because the US was not first ...? Were you mad because politics stopped the US from being firstMike - based on how you phrased your questions, you look for answers from USA citizens only, right?At the other side of the Iron Curtain most people were amazed at technical capabilities of our main allies, happy that socialism triumphed once again and capitalists were left behind in technology, afraid that USA might launch nuclear weapons on us.
Sputnik preceded me by a few years. I'm in Middle Tennessee though so depending on your age you might understand this better. My father told me that the preacher at Church delivered a sermon on how the Communists were doomed in their efforts to control the Heavens because they were Godless. He was also afraid at the same time that we might not succeed because, led by rock and roll, the USA was headed in the same direction. In my entire life there has never been a Communist success or effort at any level that was not held as evidence that the U.S. had fallen from grace with the Almighty.
Were you mad because politics stopped the US from being first, when a Jupiter C was launched in September, 1956 with its 4th stage filled with sand to prevent an accidental satellite launch?