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Sputnik Redux

More than 50 years ago, the so-called “Sputnik moment” was a wake-up call that pushed the US to increase investment in technology and science education. Now America has had its "Dragon moment": for the first time, a private company has built and successfully launched a spacecraft into orbit and then recovered it from a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

CAPE CANAVERAL – More than 50 years ago (1957), the Soviets launched the world’s first orbiting satellite, beating the US into space. For Americans, the so-called “Sputnik moment” was a wake-up call that pushed the United States to increase investment in technology and science education. Months later, the US launched the Explorer 1 satellite, and the race was on. Children were encouraged to study math and science, and American know-how helped the US meet the challenge.

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