Possible Answers 1.  It launched the Space Race, and the Age of Space Exploration 2.  It led directly to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 3.  Soviet officials didn't think it was all that big of a deal, until they saw the American reaction to it 4.  A month later, Sputnik 2 was launched with a dog aboard. Americans nicknamed her Muttnik 5.  It is still up there, though not functioning, an empty orbiting shell among the thousands of far more sophisticated weather, telecommunications, and other satellites that have followed