throwaway123098

3 ms·

1. 1.▲
   by throwaway123098 10y ago

   Also, Explorer 1 had scientific payload (which discovered the Van-Allen belts), unlike Sputnik
2. 2.▲
   by throwaway123098 10y ago

   But we were not _really_ behind. We were about a year behind (if not less), and much was due to other American advantages: we didn't need huge rockets (which would launch humans into space) since American nuclear bombs were smaller. Th
3. 3.▲
   by throwaway123098 10y ago

   The Western world isn't falling behind. It's just not so push-over ahead. What China is doing right now, the USSR did in the 1960s, and the US did in the 70s (it had a ten year detour to go to the moon first). While NASA hasn&#x27