What Drove Early U.S. R&D Programs, Thrill of an adventure or hype of the threat?
The immediate U.S. response to the 1957 launch was negative, but it was also a catalyst for action. Priceline’s Jay Walker referred to the events of 1957 as a “stampede of fear and paranoia.” When it came to spending money on research and programs with unknown outcomes, no one questioned the validity of the expense. And no one questioned the validity of educating more scientists and engineers, or whether or not that education would ultimately lead to a good job. We could say that this was one instance in which paranoid behavior was a good thing, leading to positive outcomes for the American economy and our workforce. Astronaut Thomas Stafford said, “It’s a good thing that we weren’t first in space. Sputnik pushed the education and output at American universities. Had we had our little explorer up first, and the Soviet Union up second, we would not have accomplished Apollo. We would have gone at some point, but not in that time.” He added that we also would not have DARPA, the internet,
