When a Russian rocket lofted Sputnik 1 into orbit on October 4, 1957, the worldwide reaction was a mixture of awe and apprehension. The Space Age — and the Space Race — had begun. To an American public that had grown accustomed to our country’s growing global primacy, Sputnik’s launch was a traumatic wake-up call. This retrospective will explore the events leading up to Sputnik's launch, the political fallout that led to America's response (Explorer 1), the formation of NASA, and the crucial role that amateur astronomers played in tracking the first satellites. Presented by J. Kelly Beatty, an award-winning writer and communicator that specializes in planetary science and space exploration as Senior Contributing Editor for Sky & Telescope magazine.