1During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union competed fiercely to prove their power through space exploration.
2In nineteen fifty-seven, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite, and shocked the entire Western world.
3Just four years later, Yuri Gagarin became the very first human being to orbit our planet.
4American leaders worried deeply that their country was falling far behind in science and technology.
5So President Kennedy promised to land a man on the moon before the decade ended.
6Thousands of engineers and scientists worked day and night to make that dream come true.
7When Apollo eleven finally landed, hundreds of millions of people around the world watched in silence.
8The space race pushed technology forward much faster than anyone had ever thought possible before.
9Modern satellites, computers, and many new materials all grew directly out of this great competition.
10Today, former enemies work peacefully together on the very same space station above our heads.