The Making of Sputnik
While the launch of Sputnik 50 years ago astounded the world, it was largely ignored by the Soviet press. But it triggered a spat among Soviet scientists that ultimately cost the country the race to the moon a decade later.
MOSCOW -- On October 4, 1957, my father, Nikita Khrushchev, awaited a telephone call. Chief Designer Sergei Korolev was expected to call from the Tyuratam launch site (later renamed Baikonur Cosmodrome) in Kazakhstan to report on the launch of the world’s first man-made satellite.