THE SPACE EQUATION

Journey back to 1957 and the earliest days of the space race between Russia and the USA.

American scientists pose for Life magazine on October 10, 1957, alongside satellite orbit equations drawn up by astronomer Samuel Herrick. The photo was taken just six days after the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1 – the world’s first human-made satellite and a win in the earliest round of the space race. NASA was created the following October, and within months the United States was also in orbit: on January 31, 1958, NASA launched the Explorer 1 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

PHOTOGRAPH BY J. R. EYERMAN