NASA's history had changed and got recognized after the launch of Sputnik

Nasa’s history had changed on 4^th October, 1957, the Soviet Union had successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball i.e. 58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter, weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in latest political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it manifests the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

Launch of Sputnik had changed everything as a technical achievement; Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard. Its size was more impressive than Vanguard's intended 3.5-pound payload and in addition, the public feared that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S. Then the Soviets strike again; on November 3, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.

Immediately after the Sputnik I launch in October, the U.S. Defense Department responded to the political furor by approving financial support for another U.S. satellite project. As a simultaneous alternative to Vanguard, Wernher von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal group began work on the Explorer project.

On 31^st January, 1958, the tide altered, when the United States successfully launched Explorer I. This satellite carried a small scientific payload that finally discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Explorer program continued as a successful constant series of lightweight, scientifically useful spacecraft.

The Sputnik launch also led straight to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress approved the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA as of October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies.