42 



New York Herald Tribune: "America is worried. It should be, we 

 have been set back severely, not only in matters of defense and se- 

 curity, but in the context for the support and confidence of the peo- 

 ples throughout the world." 2 And rocketry specialist Wernher von 

 Braun commented that Sputnik "triggered a period of self-apprais- 

 al rarely equaled in modern times. Overnight, it became popular to 

 question the bulwarks of our society; our public educational 

 system, our industrial strength, international policy, defense strate- 

 gy and forces, the capability of our science and technology. Even 

 the moral fiber of our people came under searching examination." 3 

 Mass media attention to Sputnik helped to create a political atmos- 

 phere in the United States that seemed to demand a reexamination 

 of the Government's science policy. What went wrong, the com- 

 mentators asked. How had the United States "lost" its technologi- 

 cal advantage? Such questioning naturally began to focus attention 

 also on the state of the nation's science education, from elementary 

 school through postgraduate training. 



Congressional Response to Sputnik 



Prompted by the widespread outcry over the news of Sputnik, 

 Congressional leaders were quick to react. The Eisenhower Admin- 

 istration became a target of criticism in both houses of Congress, as 

 Senators and Representatives alike spoke of the loss of U.S. inter- 

 national prestige and national security that resulted from the 

 Soviet accomplishment. But these early criticisms hurled at the 

 President did not stop the Congress from working with the Admin- 

 istration in drafting and passing several important pieces of legisla- 

 tion in 1958, including the National Aeronautics and Space Act, 

 the Defense Reorganization Act, and the National Defense Educa- 

 tion Act. 



The orbiting of Sputnik inaugurated the beginning of the space 

 race between the United States and the Soviet Union, a "race" 

 that had significant effects on the character of American science 

 policy. No other post-Sputnik law had a greater impact on increas- 

 ing the Federal funding of scientific research and development 

 than the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Signed into law by 

 President Eisenhower on 29 July 1958, 4 this Act created the Na- 

 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ensured 

 that the U.S. space program would be a civilian, rather than a 

 military effort. In absorbing the old National Advisory Committee 

 for Aeronautics, NASA became responsible for providing unique 

 opportunities for scientific observation and experiment, as well as 

 for the general technological advancement of the space program. 

 Whereas NACA had performed most of its research inhouse, NASA 

 became a major external contracting agency, thus giving a tremen- 

 dous boost to the extramural research support offered by the Fed- 

 eral Government. 5 



2 Quoted in Robert D. Lapidus, "Sputnik and Its Repercussions: A Historical Catalyst," Aero- 

 space Historian, 17 (Summer-Fall 1970), 89. 



3 Quoted in Ibid. 



4 Public Law 85-568. 



5 See McDougall, . . . The Heavens and the Earth; Homer E. Newell, Beyond the Atmosphere: 

 Early Years of Space Science (Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

 1980); and Alex Roland, Model Research: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, 

 1915-1958 (Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1985). 



