American Experience: The Satellite Sky on AllMovie

This program is part of a series from PBS entitled the American Experience. This episode takes the viewer back in time to the Cold War and the early days of the space race. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, it sent a challenge to America far beyond that of being first at pioneering the space exploration effort. The nation was thrown into a furor over national security issues and hurt pride. The ensuing struggle for hegemony in the far reaches of space is related in this story with archival news clips, photographs, journalistic accounts, personal recollections, and scholarly commentary.