The Space Race: A History from Beginning to End (The Cold War)

by Hourly History

On November 3, 1957, just 32 days after the launch of Sputnik 1, Russia successfully launched Sputnik 2, and this time, the satellite contained a living space traveler—a dog named Laika.

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

“We choose to go to the moon! We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”