🗓#OTD in 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1, beating the US to launch the first man-made satellite into space. Learn about the space race and the trials of the Cold War in Atomic Age Declassified: Spies in Space tonight at 11 pm. #SpaceWeek #WorldSpaceWeek | Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation

The Space Race began with the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, shocking the world and triggering a frantic American response. Over the next twelve years, the competition accelerated rapidly, producing a series of historic firsts: Yuri Gagarin's first human orbit in 1961, Valentina Tereshkova becoming the first woman in space in 1963, and John Glenn's orbital flight for the United States. The race culminated with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, when NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldri