Why was the launch of sputnik in 1957 important?
most in the u. s. had not thought the soviets were capable of producing satellite technology. it launched the arms race between the united states and the soviet union. most in the soviet union had not thought the u. s. was capable of launching manned aircraft. it established the fact that a more dangerous hydrogen bomb could be created.

The u.s feared that the soviets would be able to spy on them without them knowing (even though tech was bad). So America propelled its program into overdrive. The rocket system developed payload launchers, prototype ICBMS. This also launched the space race between the two. When you think about it, without the space race both countries wouldn't have made the giant leaps in technology, thus resulting in us having degraded tech today. Hope this helps!