From Matt Bille:
Yet when the U.S.S.R. orbited Sputnik, the whole world, especially the
U.S., appeared to be "shocked" by it. BRBR

There were a number of reasons. The CIA knew the Soviets were working on an
ICBM, but many analysts in the West doubted a Soviet claim that such a rocket
had flown successfully in August 1957.
snip

It's not hard to find the old AvWeeks from August '57. They published
definitive articles on how the Soviet ICBM test was successful.

Why the shock in October? It's one thing to learn that you're
vulnerable. It's another to actually *see* it.

For anyone interested, here's a post from Sputnik's 45th anniversary
with lots more info on why it was so shocking:

http://tinyurl.com/m8i5

(http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...gle.com&rnum=1)


~ CT