| THE FIRST SATELLITES | ||
As early as 1951, a leading Soviet rocket designer stated that his nation's technology was on par with that of the United States and that the Soviet Union could launch an artificial satellite. At a meeting on November 27, 1953, a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences stated, "the creation of an artificial satellite of the earth is a real possibility." In September 1956, the Soviet Union announced it would launch an artificial satellite during the next year, which was also designated as the International Geophysical Year (IGY.) No one seems to have heard or believed this statement, as the world was shocked a year later, when Sputnik was announced. |
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