Last week’s New York Times science section was entirely devoted to the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch. The section was called The Space Age and it has a lot of very interesting articles:

• With Fear and Wonder in Its Wake, Sputnik Lifted Us Into the Future
• When the Space Age Blasted Off, Pop Culture Followed
• New Challengers Emerge, Threatening to Take the Lead
• One Giant Leap, Followed by Decades of Baby Steps
• Voices: 10/4/57 (interviews with scientists)

BTW, the Tuesday New York Times always has a full section devoted to science; it’s well worth checking out. All the articles are available on their web site.