On October 4, 1957, the world watched in awe and fear as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik,
1957年10月4日，世人带着敬畏和恐惧，目睹了苏联发射了史普尼克号，
the world's first man-made satellite, into space.
世界上第一颗人造卫星进入太空。
This little metal ball, smaller than two feet in diameter,
这个小小的、直径小于两英尺的金属球，
launched a space race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. that would last for eighteen years and change the world as we know it.
引发了美国和苏联之间的太空竞赛，这场竞赛一共延续18年之久，并彻底改变了我们所熟知的这个世界。
Sputnik was actually not the first piece of human technology to enter space.
史普尼克号不是第一个登上太空的人造科技。
That superlative goes to the V-2 rocket used by Germany in missile attacks
早在那之前，德国用于导弹袭击的V-2火箭，
against Allied cities as a last-ditch effort in the final years of World War II.
在第二次世界大战的最后几年，用来作为对抗同盟军的最后努力。
It wasn't very effective, but, at the end of the war,
但并不十分成功。相反，战争结束后，
both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. had captured the technology and the scientists that had developed it
美国与苏联各接收了其相关技术与研究人员，
and began using them for their own projects.
并开始展开各自的研究计划。
And by August 1957, the Soviet's successfully tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7,
于是在1957年8月，苏联成功试射了史上第一枚洲际弹道飞弹R-7，
the same rocket that would be used to launch Sputnik two months later.
并运用了相同的火箭技术，于两个月后成功发射史普尼克号。
So, the scary thing about Sputnik was not the orbiting ball itself,
关于史普尼克号，最令人惊恐的不在于人造卫星本身，
but the fact that the same technology could be used to launch a nuclear warhead at any city.
而是这项科技也可用来在任何城市发射核弹头。
Not wanting to fall too far behind,
不希望落后太多，
President Eisenhower ordered the Navy to speed up its own project and launch a satellite as soon as possible.
美国总统艾森豪威尔命令海军加快脚步，完成计划，并在最短时间内完成发射人造卫星的目标。
So, on December 6, 1957, excited people across the nation tuned in to watch the live broadcast
因此，在1957年12月6号，全国人民兴奋的观看实况转播，
as the Vanguard TV3 satellite took off and crashed to the ground two seconds later.
先锋三号卫星缓缓起飞，但却于两秒后坠毁，掉落在地面上。
The Vanguard failure was a huge embarassment for the United States.
先锋三号发射失败，带给美国很大的羞辱。
Newspapers printed headlines like, 'Flopnik' and 'Kaputnik'.
当时的报纸头条都是Flopnik和Kaputnik（搞砸）。
And a Soviet delegate at the U.N. mockingly suggested that the U.S. should receive foreign aid for developing nations.
苏联驻联合国大使甚至嘲讽似的建议美国应该接受外援来发展国家。

Fortunately, the Army had been working on their own parallel project,
幸运的是，美国陆军同时也在发展另一个计划，
The Explorer, which was successfully launched in January 1958,
探险家号，并于1958年1月成功发射，
but the U.S. had barely managed to catch up before they were surpassed again as Yuri Gargarin became the first man in space in April 1961.
美国勉强得赶了上来，却再次被超越。1961年4月，尤里·加加林成为了第一位登上太空的人类。
Almost a year passed and several more Soviet astronauts completed their missions
约莫一年之后，在许多苏联航天员都已登上太空，成功返航，
before Project Mercury succeeded in making John Glenn the first American in orbit in February 1962.
美国的水星计划才成功的于1962年2月将航天员约翰·葛伦送上太空。
By this time, President Kennedy had realized that simply catching up to each Soviet advance a few months later wasn't going to cut it.
经由这次事件，美国总统肯尼迪明白一点，如果只是单纯的追赶苏联的成就，并在几个月后达成，是不足以停熄这场太空军备竞赛。
The U.S. had to do something first, and in May 1961, a month after Gargarin's flight,
美国必需在某些目标拔得头筹，因此，1961年5月，就在加加林登上太空一个月后，
he announced the goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
他宣布了一个要于1960年前将人类送上月球的计划。
They succeeded in this through the Apollo program with Neil Armstrong taking his famous step on July 20, 1969.
最后，在1969年7月20号，随着尼尔·阿姆斯特朗踏出那有名的一步，阿波罗计划宣告成功。
With both countries' next turning their attention to orbital space stations,
接着，双方都将目标转向发展太空站，
there's no telling how much longer the space race could have gone on.
没有人能预测太空竞赛还会延续多久。
But because of improving relations negotiated by Soviet Premier Leonid Breshnev and U.S. President Nixon,
但由于双方关系趋于和缓，在苏联总理列昂尼德·布利兹涅夫与美国总统尼克松持续沟通下，
the U.S.S.R. and U.S. moved toward cooperation rather than competition.
美苏两国由原本竞争关系改为合作。
The successful joint mission, known as Apollo-Soyuz,
成功的合作任务是众所周知的阿波罗-联盟测试计划，
in which an American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz craft
美国阿波罗宇宙飞船与苏联联盟宇宙飞船在太空中接合，
and the two crews met, shook hands, and exchanged gifts, marked the end of the space race in 1975.
两国航天员会面、握手并交换礼物，标志着太空竞赛在1975年宣告结束。
So, in the end, what was the point of this whole space race?
到头来，这整个太空竞赛的重点是什么？
Was it just a massive waste of time?
难道只是单纯的浪费时间？
Two major superpowers trying to outdo each other by pursuing symbolic projects that were both dangerous and expensive,
两大强权试图于某些指针性任务压倒对方的过程，常常是昂贵且危险的，
using resources that could have been better spent elsewhere?
所使用的这些资源会不会可能更好地用在其他地方呢？
Well, sure, sort of, but the biggest benefits of the space program had nothing to do with one country beating another.
当然，这部分正确，但太空竞赛所带来最大收获不在于一个国家打败了另一个国家。
During the space race, funding for research and education, in general, increased dramatically,
而是在于太空竞赛期间，通常来说，所投入的教育研究都会急剧增加
leading to many advances that may not have otherwise been made.
这也会带来在很多其他方面无法得到的收获。
Many NASA technologies developed for space are now widely used in civilian life,
美国太空总署在太空竞赛时所研发的科技现在正广泛的运用于我们日常生活，
from memory foam in mattresses to freeze-dried food, to LEDs in cancer treatment.
从记忆泡沫床垫到冷冻食品，再到癌症治疗中的LED。
And, of course, the satellites that we rely on for our GPS and mobile phone signals would not have been there without the space program.
还有，全球定位系统和移动电话信号所需的卫星，要不是有太空竞赛，就不可能会产生。
All of which goes to show that the rewards of scientific research and advancement
所有这些都说明了，科技研究与创新带来的回馈，
are often far more vast than even the people pursuing them can imagine.
往往是要远超过当初研究的人们所能预期的。