Sputnik

Sputnik was a Soviet satellite launched on October 4, 1957, and gave the US a major scare. It worried the USA for a few reasons. One of those reasons was that it made us realize that the Soviets now had the power to send nuclear weapons all the way to the USA. Another way it worried us was that the media would be going crazy with news about the Soviets beating us in the Space Race. These are some reasons explaining how Sputnik contributed to the Cold War.