It was the height of the Cold War. At odds were the United States and the former Soviet Union, both attempting to posture and propagandize their way to a win in a geopolitical dispute that dragged on nearly 50 years. Complicating matters was a burgeoning space race, one the US was losing after the Soviets launched their first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. To avoid losing the propaganda war, the US went into scramble mode. First it launched a satellite of its own, Explorer 1. Then it assembled a team of the best and brightest — including a young Carl…

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