Sputnik 1. The worlds first satelite.

I was 7 years old when my dad and I went outside of the house and looked up into the sky to try and see Sputnik 1 Russia's and the worlds first earth orbiting space craft. We lived at the beach at Otumoetai.

On that night I can clearly remember seeing Sputnik 1 transverse out southern sky and I can also clearly remember mum's concern that the "commies" will take over the world if they keep going like this. We should remember that this was during the peak of the so called cold war era.

The Space Race had begun.