Soviet scientists believed that the Americans would keep their plans secret until after they had succeeded in launching a satellite, so all our efforts were put into beating the Americans to the launch. In August and September, R-7 missiles were successfully launched twice.
苏联科学家相信，美国科学家在成功地发射卫星之前将会对其计划保密，所以我们就竭尽全力领先美国发射。在8月和9月，R-7导弹两次成功发射。大家都是只争朝夕。