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From: steve@eos.UUCP (Steve Philipson)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation,sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Why Sputnik caused fear/panic [was: Re: Dynasoar]
Summary: the Soviets had solved the guidance problem
Message-ID: <3013@eos.UUCP>
Date: 28 Mar 89 05:21:27 GMT
References: <524@gonzo.UUCP> <1475@petsd.UUCP> <13987@elroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> <94977@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <11347@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com>
Reply-To: steve@eos.UUCP (Steve Philipson)
Distribution: na
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Calif.
Lines: 26

In article <11347@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com> smb@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com (Steven M. Bellovin) writes:

>Anyway, the Soviets did launch first, and the U.S. public panicked.  ...

>Another tidbit from the book:  a primary purpose of the civilian space
>program was military technology development.  ...
> ... And of course, the military did have their own uses
>for orbiting satellites anyway.

   The public had good reason to panic.  By 1957 large boosters had existed
for some time, and even larger boosters were in the offing.  What the
soviets accomplished was not just a neat trick and technological first
of putting a satellite into orbit -- they had demonstrated that they
had solved the guidance problem of putting a hunk of metal into a
desired orbit.  This meant that they could also put a nuclear warhead
up, and probably drop it down onto our heads.  For the first time, the
continental US was under direct threat of nuclear attack.  Indeed, this 
was something to panic about.

   We have had a space research program that has largely been civilian,
but military objectives and goals have been there since the beginning.  
-- 

						   Steve
					(the certified flying fanatic)
					    steve@aurora.arc.nasa.gov