The impact of this event on the United States

The Democrats view the Sputnik as a issue of National Defense. Their ability to launched the Sputnik into space gave U.S. the fear of they would carry Nuclear Weapon to attack the U.S. from the space. The U.S. Defense Department immediately started the Explorer project after the launching of Sputnik I. On January 31, 1958, the United States successfully launched satellite named Explorer I. In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on October 1, 1958.