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15.24 - You would probably not have been around in 1956 to appreciate the global significance of Sputnik. It was a giant shock to everyone. It changed everything and was a direct challenge to the US. Before 1956, STEM didn't have anywhere near the emphasis it had after that time in schools. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, there certainly was a race to be first to the moon. The US won it but were helped by the fact that the Soviets' chief rocket designer, Korolyov died in the late 60s. So, I agree with Michael, it really was a challenge by the Soviet Union to the US. When Khrushschev said to America at the United Nations in 1961, "We will bury you," he was dead serious. He was, after all, responsible for mass executions in the Ukraine in the Stalinist era and imprisoning hundreds of thousands in the Gulags - just to put things in their true perspective.