The Clock is Running and We're Underway! | Part 2

Four satellite launches into the Space Race, and the score—in terms of pounds put into orbit—is Communism, 1300; Capitalism, 33. And the humiliations keep on coming. Playing it safe, America loses a chance to put the first man in space. Instead, they opt to fly a steely-eyed missile chimp. The Russians knock a grand slam homer out of the park as Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin does on the first manned mission what it would take America three more launches to accomplish. In history's biggest sales pitch ever, the Soviet Union is handing the United States its backside on a platter. In Part 2 of What We Saw, we will watch as America continues its serial humiliation. But then, the space equivalent of a candy apple red '66 Corvette Stingray convertible starts to dig in and get some real traction as the Cold War gets hotter.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices