- Historic Sites Shooting The Moon Practical rather than
idealistic reasons pushed President Kennedy to challenge America
to land a man on the moon within the decade Winter 2010 | Volume
59, Issue 4 Gazing up at the Texas night sky from his ranch,
Senator Lyndon B. Johnson did not know what to make of Sputnik
I, the first artificial Earth satellite launched into orbit by a
Soviet missile on October 4, 1957. But an aide’s memorandum
stoked his political juices. “The issue is one which, if
properly handled, would blast the Republicans out of the water,
unify the Democratic party, and elect you President.” Back in
Washington Johnson chaired blue-ribbon hearings to determine how
the United States had fallen behind in “the race to control the
universe.” Whether or not Sputniks were a threat, they were a
“technological Pearl Harbor” and a terrible blow to U.S.
prestige because “in the eyes of the world first in space means
first, period; second in space is second in everything.” In fact
Sputnik was no surprise to t