NASA
Nasa: Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age
NASA provides a paper providing a background to the Sputnik launch and the U.S. response.
NASA
Nasa: The International Geophysical Year
This site from NASA outlines the Sputnik program and the political underworkings that allowed it to reach fruition.
NASA
Nasa: Tests Versus Time in the Race for Space
This NASA site offers a good description of the ongoing space race during the Kennedy administration, discussing the "nip and tuck" of the Soviet-U.S. race. Also includes a description of Kennedy's new special assistant for science and...
NASA
Nasa: Sputniks 1, 2, and 3
NASA provides a paper that "deals with the politics, planning and technology of the period 1946-1958" in the Sputnik program.
NASA
Nasa: "Pravda" Press Release
NASA provides the full text from the tersely worded "Pravda," the Russian national newspaper, that announced the successful launch of Sputnik.