"Ed Majden" wrote in message
news:svIAb.590113$6C4.355753@pd7tw1no...
The Wright brothers first flight is correctly being celebrated as a
milestone achievement in aviation. I wonder if the anniversary of Sputnik
will receive the same attention in a few years! This is just as an
important anniversary. No, I'm not a communist; this was asked on another
news group so I'm interested in the comments!

I'm afraid that until manned space flight is as accessible as
manned flight, most of the world will not consider it as important.
Compared to the changes that followed from the Wrights' flights,
Sputnik was the lead in to a dead-in technology.