The US government and its scientists felt like they were lacking behind and they needed to start accelerating the making of space weapons and satellites. And since it was during the Cold War the US thought the Soviet Union were more equipped and better then them.“The success of Sputnik had a major impact on the Cold War and the United States. Fear that they had fallen behind led U.S. policymakers to accelerate space and weapons programs. In the late 1950s, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev boasted about Soviet technological superiority and growing stockpiles of ICBMs, so the United States worked simultaneously to develop its own ICBMs to counter what it assumed was a growing stockpile of Soviet missiles directed against the United States”(OFFICE OF THE HISTORIAN). The US thought it could be a ICBMs which is a guided missile and they thought the Soviet Union was going to use it on them so they started to plan and build space weapons and satellites to protect the United States.
Sputnik was very important as it started off the space race being the first artificial satellite, and it started one of the biggest revolutions.
“While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race” (“Sputnik and The Dawn of The Space Age”).
This information helps support my answer by explaining how only one event can change history forever. The launch of Sputnik was the first artificial satellite that led us to the space race, a race between the Soviets and the U.S. of who can make the most advanced space technology. Another huge goal in the space race was the first man on the moon. The space race was very important for the countries involved because it was a way to show their power/technological advancements.