— -- In 1957, Thomas Stafford looked down on the Soviet Union. The launch of Sputnik I forced him to change his mind — and set him on a course to the moon. An Air Force fighter pilot in the ...

WASHINGTON — President Obama's State of the Union address last week detailed an ambitious set of goals for the country in terms of technology and innovation. He stressed investments were needed in ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Embarking on a mission that scientists have been dreaming of since the Sputnik era, a NASA spacecraft hurtled Sunday toward the sun on a quest to unlock some of its mysteries ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The successful launch of the Soviet Union's first two satellites prompted U.S. President Dwight D ...

Forty years ago, Sputnik and the Soviets set the course for a space race with the West. Now the satellite, the space race - and even the Soviet Union itself - are gone. But Sputnik’s legacy endures.

IOWA CITY - Just days after stepping onto the University of Iowa campus as a freshman engineering major, a 17-year-old Don Gurnett redirected his focus skyward. 'They used to post a time at which you ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover the history of science and exploration. The object that started the Space Race was small and deceptively simple. Sputnik 1 ...

October 4, 1957: a little 83.6 kg (184 lb) object entered the microgravity environment of Low Earth Orbit. With this unprecedented achievement, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics became the first ...