Sputnik beeps overhead, Americans in awe, including a young

[TheSpiffyGamer]

"Beep, beep, beep, beep."- Sputnik.

[jednoucelovy]

The amazing scientific achievements people witnessed during the cold war were complemented by the constant fear of possible nuclear holocaust. It would be so cool to travel back in time to see people's reactions - just for a visit, though, lol.

[AroundSun]

3:12 Oh shucks Eddy! Ya little pocket of firecrackers ya! What a bashful youngin golly o gee willikers. now get home, its gettin dark and ya supper is gettin cold. how about a quarter eddie, whatta ya say?!

Eddie: O jeepers gosh gee willikers, a whole shiny quarter, just for me! thanks pa!

[Sasukekillsitachi]

Yuri Gagarin was the first one to get to the space, not a bloody american.

[gman8744]

This would be funny if Leonard Nemoy said "Beep" over and over from the Civilization 4 sputnik quote was on here.

[macwiththepak]

if it wasnt for russia noone would be getting T.V. this is amazing

[macwiththepak]

@TheJomogogo they sent sputnik. sputnik was the first item in space that orbited the earth. without it there will not be any satellites for tv programs.

[lunacomputacion]

@macwiththepak Just like rockets, satellites and missiles TV was developed in many countries; including the usa and nazi germany. Any of them would have ended up putting a satellite in space, and use it to worldwide communication. Russians take the credit for Sputnik or Gagarin as Americans logically take it for the first airplane or telephone or moon walk. Those achievements would have been attained anyway. There's some glory about being the first at something - that's a lot, but that's it.

[T800System]

"For the first time.. man kind has reached for the stars - and found them within his grasp"

[Takeital]

looks like a mistake at 2:43, he wasn't the first to orbit the earth, maybe the first american

[ErnstRohmMyFuhrer]

Sputnik was modeled from Lenin's left testicle.

[Lumotaku]

America won the space race because of the saturn 5 rocket. The russians main rocket scientist died.

[CTNDSUman]

After Kruschev was ousted and the Soviet presidium selected Brezhnev as their new leader, priority shifted towards national security instead of prestige (which is what the earlier Soviet space successes were). The country was in such shambles with their economic crisis and Kruschev's failed agricultural plans they simply didn't have the resources to hold their lead over America. Certainly it didn't help that Korolev died in 1966 :)

[sampochin]

@CTNDSUman

i think priority was always defence and not prestige, thats why the russian programme was so underfunded.

[drew335533]

hahaha "maybe in his lifetime" =D

[NNJ007]

Just as a sidenote, John Glenn wasn't the first person to orbit the Earth, Yuri Gagarin was the first

[rosson1983]

Correct, John Glenn was the first AMERICAN to orbit the Earth.

[eedobee]

@rosson1983 Americans = Not people

[Lumotaku]

@NNJ007

but the russians had 3 failures and corpses orbiting the earth ask the italians