What was Sputnik? What impact did Sputnik have on the United States?

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957, orbiting for three weeks before its batteries died, then silently for two more months before falling back into the atmosphere.

The Soviets responded with yet another launch, and the space race continued. 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.

Explanation:

no every country is held to the same degree as others just some member countries such as the usa and germany are more economically sound so the need to show there support to all others