Before There Was an Internet

To truly understand the internet, we have to start at its beginning, which was in 1957 with a seemingly unrelated event. The USSR launched the first man-made, Earth-orbiting satellite Sputnik (shown in Figure 1-3), which was 23 inches in diameter and weighed about 190 pounds. Though small by today’s standards, this object truly energized the technology boom that was to follow.

A photograph shows the U S S R’s Sputnik satellite high above the Earth.

FIGURE 1-3 The USSR’s Sputnik satellite.

© Graphic Compressor/Shutterstock

Space, satellites, and science were suddenly on the public’s mind. Schools expanded their curriculum to include more courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. ...

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