Christine also took umbrage at the Soviets’ excursion into the heavens. From her core came the desire to rise up to meet the gauntlet they had thrown down. She was an American, after all, and the Russians were the enemy! We can’t let them beat us, she thought, echoing the sentiments of virtually every American citizen. It would take time for her to work it out, but somehow, even in those first moments of learning of the Soviet accomplishment, she believed that this was her fight too.
