October 4, 1957 will be the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Space Age. On that date, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik on top of a R-7 intercontinental balistic missile originally designed to send nuclear warheads to US targets. The R-7 was used by the Soviets to launch the first man into orbit a few years later and modified versions of that rocket continue to loft the current Soyuz Passenger Ships and Progress Cargo Ships to the International Space Station.

There is an interesting article in Newsweek about the effect of Sputnik, attempting to downplay its significance. I don't think the revisionism of the article is entirely right and it seems, especially in its conclusion, entirely too negative about the value of Sputnik's legacy and spaceflight in general.

There is an element in the intellegentsia who think that spaceflight is a waste of money. I think those with that opinion are shortsighted, without much sense of wonder or vision, and ignorant.