On October 4, 1957, the world's first artificial satellite was launched by a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile. This 183 pound sphere was named "Sputnik," which means "traveling companion," in Russian. This both startled and terrified Americans, who had long believed that our country far exceeded the scientific knowledge and capabilities of any other nation.
In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established a new agency to look into this technological surprise, and to prevent anything of this sort to ever occur again. The agency was given the title "Advanced Research Projects Agency" (ARPA). Suddenly, federal money was allocated to fund space exploration. Colleges and universities searched for scientists to do research and to establish courses of instruction to educate a crop of computer technologists to put us into space. In 2000, the name of the agency was changed to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and it began to focus on military objectives. Who ever imagined that space reconnaissance would involve warfare? Weren't we just exploring the stars and the heavens?
September 11, 2001 was another startling discovery for the United States. How had we been so blind to what was being advanced in other nations aimed at harming us? We can't just wish on a star that our country employs satellites in space that are watching the "bad guys." Hopefully, it won't take something like a "Sputnik" to awaken us to reality.
If you are interested in a more scientific look at Sputnik and technology, read "Happy Birthday, Sputnik," Computerworld, October 1, 2007 .

> Discuss this entry