Decline+of+the+USSR+Research+Science+and+Mathematical+Contributions


 * Sputnik 1 was the first satellite to ever orbit the earth (http://www.spacetoday.org/images/Sats/Sputnik1modelTass.jpg) ||
 * Premier Nikita Khrushchev was enthusiastic about rockets
 * He "virtually rammed rockets down the throats of Red Army traditionalists" (Humble, 4)
 * He created the "Strategic Rocket Forces" (Humble, 4)
 * It was comnmanded by Marchal Nodelin, and later, Marshal Nikolai 1 (Humble, 4)
 * In the 50's, Khrushev decided to focus less on land armies
 * Instead, he put focus on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM)(Humble, 4)
 * The "space race" accelerated in the 60's (Humble, 5)
 * The space program was supported widely
 * First earth-orbiting satelite, Spitnuk 1, was launched
 * It was used July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958(Humble, 6)
 * Cosmos satilites were created for single missions
 * These were generally military missions (Humble, 6)
 * Since the cosmos missions began, over 700 were launched (Humble, 6)