On Oct. 1, 1957, a flicker of light reached into the dark sky over the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soviets had launched Sputnik (“traveling companion”) the world’s first man-made satellite. Americans (pardon the expression) went ballistic.
“Here in the capital,” reported Eric Sevareid on CBS radio, “responsible men think and talk of little but the metal spheroid that now looms larger in the eye of the mind than the planet it circles around.” Before Sputnik, Americans thought the Kremlin’s technology was a joke. When rumors circulated about the danger of smuggled Soviet “suitcase” bombs, the joke was “first they have to perfect the suitcase.” After Sputnik, nobody laughed.
Contrast the Sputnik furor with the White House reaction during the president’s first “100 days” when Iran launched a satellite and North Korea fired a long-range missile. The administration did almost nothing. It didn’t even elicit the tamest and lamest of statements from the U.N. Security Council. Apparently, the president spent more time on the phone worrying about pirates than about nuclear-tipped missiles threats to the homeland.
After Sputnik, President Eisenhower looked for prudent ways to accelerate the U.S. missile and space programs. Obama signed off on a plan to cut today’s missile-defense program by about 15 percent.
Obama was wrong, arguably failing the greatest test of the 100-day agenda. Here’s why.
First, satellite launches are a big deal. From the earliest days of the space race, getting a ballistic missile to fly a really long way proved a very difficult problem. The longer the flight, the bigger the payload, the more fuel needed. That meant a much heavier missile – and it meant even more thrust was needed to get into space.
The solution devised was the multi-stage rocket. After a stage used up its fuel, it was jettisoned. That made the missile lighter and thus less fuel was needed to continue acceleration. The trick with a multi-stage rocket is the instant of separation between the stages. Unless everything goes exactly right, the missile might wobble and then spin out of control and fly apart. Getting a long-range multi-stage missile to work correctly was a major technical achievement.
That’s why Americans were so upset when the Soviets successfully launched Sputnik. Now Iran has mastered this technical challenge. North Korea made real progress even though their missile failed to put a payload into orbit. In 2006, their missile flew 43 seconds. This one flew over 15 minutes and 2,500 miles. At least two stages performed well. That, by any measure, is substantial progress.
Second, because the Obama administration has not taken a firm stance with North Korea, Pyongyang has only gotten more belligerent and demanding. Since they got more indifference from the White House than concessions, however, they will probably just up the ante. They may well test another nuclear weapon by the end of the year. It will be interesting to watch the administration try to ignore that.
As for Iran, Tehran has already announced they plan another “satellite” launch.
Whatever the hoopla over the White House’s ability to crank out new laws and spend money in the first 100 days, on the national security front, on its biggest test, it failed. As a result, another North Korea nuclear moment could be only months away.
Obama must do better. Presidents have to keep the country safe for four years, not 100 days – and this president is confronted by a real challenge. If these countries can put a satellite into orbit, they are well on their way to building a ballistic missile that can fly halfway around the world.
Iran and North Korea both have the means to build nuclear weapons to put on the missiles. Both hate the United States and its allies. Iranian leaders have publicly declared they can envision a “future without America.”
While Iran and North Korea make significant advances in their missile programs, the U.S. must continue to keep its missile-defense programs well ahead of the threat. To do anything less just invites another Sputnik moment.
James Jay Carafano is a Senior Research Fellow for National Security at The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org).
