By Doug Stark, USGA
Far Hills, N.J. - On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union
launched Sputnik I into space, a monumental achievement
that captivated the world and ushered in the space
|Retired NASA astronaut Brian Duffy
displays the 'Shuttle Putter' that was used by
his crew in space during the 1996 Endeavour voyage
(NASA mission STS-72), at the Kansas Cosmosphere and
Space Center in Hutchinson, Kan., on Sept. 28. (Ellie
This artificial satellite was nearly the size of a
basketball and weighed only 183 pounds. The
successful launch took 98 minutes to orbit the Earth.
That single event propelled the United States and Soviet
Union space race that dominated the Cold War era.
Fifty years later, the world continues to make great
advances regarding space exploration.
In conjunction with this historic event, the USGA Museum
partnered with the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in
Hutchinson, Kan., to celebrate the 50
anniversary of Space Exploration and the launch of Sputnik
"The launch of Sputnik is not only a real event in the
history of spaceflight, but is also a key symbolic event in
the history of the human race," said Chris Orwoll,
Cosmosphere President and . "October 4th was the
date Sputnik became the first man-made satellite to be
launched into space, but it was also the date that many
dreams were realized.and many new dreams were born.
For the first time, mankind's aspirations took them
beyond the sky and into the stars. That's
something to celebrate and the Cosmosphere is thrilled to
be part of this celebration."
To commemorate the relationship between golf and space, the
museum loaned Alan Shepard's Moon Club and Brian
Duffy's Shuttle Putter. This marked the first
time that both the Moon Club and Shuttle Putter have been
displayed together outside of Far Hills. Both will be
on view at the Kansas Cosmosphere until