50 years ago today, an event happened that set gears in motion in a most unexpected direction, eventually leading to the birth of the Internet as we know it. And who would have known that it would all begin with the launch of a Soviet Union prototype for a war machine...
50 years ago exactly, the Soviet Union surprised the world by launching Sputnick, the world's first man-made satellite. It was meant as an experiment, a predecessor to satellites that can carry nuclear warheads. The United States was literally taken by surprise, having failed twice before at launching a satellite.
In response, the US created ARPA, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, dedicated to keeping the US ahead of the competition when it comes to advanced military research. Though its focus was primarily on beating the Russians in space domination and warhead technology, research funded and/or conducted by ARPA later gave way to many useful inventions, not the least of which is ARPANET, the world's first operational packet-switching network.
ARPANET is the fetus out of which the Internet grew into existence.
That satellite, launched perhaps by people who could not begin to conceive its true significance on the course of history, is exactly the reason why I am able to reach you all with this message today, 50 years later to date.
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