Sputnik

<p><span class="deck">The first American to leave the Earth's atmosphere recalls the momentous flight that put us on a course for the Moon.</span></p>

<p><span class="deck">Sixty years ago this month, the Soviet Union orbited a “man-made moon” whose derisive chirp persuaded Americans that they’d already lost a race that had barely begun.</span></p>

<p><span class="deck">Practical, rather than idealistic, reasons pushed President Kennedy to challenge America to land a man on the moon within the decade.</span></p>