Assess the impact of the Sputnik programme on nuclear relations between the USA and USSR from 1957 to 1961. – PO-3334- Luke Williams
The repercussions of the launch of the Sputnik programme in 1957
significantly increased tensions in nuclear relations between the United States
and the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1961. The USSR inaugurated the space age
with the launch of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik. With a diameter
of 22 inches and a weight of 184 pounds, Sputnik travelled at a speed of eighteen thousand miles per hour in an orbit some 550 miles above the earth. 37
Despite this magnificent feat in scientific and technological capabilities, Sputnik
once again turned the world’s attention to the claims and fears attendant to the Cold War. 38 This essay will argue that the launch of the Sputnik programme
significantly increased tensions in nuclear relations between the United States
and the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1961. Using newspapers and a wide range of
secondary literature, this essay will focus on the reaction and responses of the
Eisenhower administration, the US political right and Khrushchev to understand
how and why nuclear tensions developed during this period. It must also be
acknowledged that in response to Sputnik, the US launched NASA and placed
significant emphasis on scientific research and development in space technology and exploration; but this is not covered in this essay. 39 Nevertheless,
this essay will conclude that the launch of the Sputnik programme in 1957
37 Robert Divine, The Sputnik Challenge (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), p.1. 38 Erwin V. Johanningmeier, ‘A Nation at Risk and Sputnik: Compared and Reconsidered’, American Educational History Journal , 37.1/2 (2010), 347-365 (p.347) < https://www.proquest.com/scholarly- journals/nation-at-risk-sputnik-compared-reconsidered/docview/867849341/se-2?accountid=14680 > [accessed 29/02/2024]. 39 John Uri, 60 years ago: The US Response to Sputnik , 16 November 2017 < https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-the-u-s-response-to-sputnik/ > [accessed 29/02/2024] (para. 1 of 2).
65
Made with FlippingBook HTML5