CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE A Threat from Above CHAPTER TWO Project Apollo 4 10 CHAPTER THREE Only White Men Work for NASA 20 CHAPTER FOUR NASA Inventions 28 CHAPTER FIVE NASA Does What 34 Important Dates 42 Stop and Think 44 Glossary 46 Online Resources 47 Learn More 47 Index 48 About the Author 48
CHAPTER ONE A THREAT FROM ABOVE The space age began with a beep on October 4 1957 The beep came from a tiny satellite called Sputnik 1 It was the first satellite made by people to orbit Earth But the United States didn't put it in space The Soviet Union did The United States and the Soviet Union both wanted to get to space Whichever country got there first would attract global attention The two countries were in a struggle to be the world's most pov nation This struggle was called the Cold War 1947 1991 The countries Sputnik 1 was approximately the size of a beach ball
