I know we have not really gotten into this in the lecture yet but today is the 50th anniversary of the first man that orbited the earth.  Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagari in 1961 took the fascinating  flight that only lasted 108 minutes .  The reason this pertains to the class is that this occurs during the height of the Cold War.  Russia, as did many other nations, saw this event as a huge win over the United States.  Not until a year later an American, John Glenn, successfully took the same journey.  During the Space Race, the Soviet Union’s achievement sent out a display of domination over the United States.