Why did many Americans fear Sputnik?

A) The Soviet Union made a direct threat to the United States, by placing strategic missiles off the coast of Cuba
that could be triggered by the Sputnik satellite

B) The fear of the Soviet's having the capacity to launch a rocket capable of carrying a satellite to orbit

C) The fact that this is the first time, the Soviet's have completed a mission to outer space before the United States

D) None of the Above