On December 18, 1958, the United States sent the world's first communications satellite into orbit aboard an Atlas rocket launched from the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex in Florida. To mark the anniversary of this landmark event, we've put together a few trivia questions; try your luck with them to see how much you know about the early days of the so-called space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

What Events Began the Cold War's Space Race? A successor to the SCORE communications satellite, the Advent satellite pictured here was developed in the early 1960s by the U.S. Department of Defense. In the fall of 1957, the Soviet Union fired the first salvo in what would become the so-called Space Race when it successfully launched into orbit the world's first man-made satellite on October 4. Roughly the size of a beach ball and dubbed Sputnik, the Soviet satellite was soon followed by yet another Soviet satellite called Sputnik II, aboard which was a small dog called Laika. Sputnik II achieved orbit on November 3, 1957. These Soviet achievements mobilized America's space scientists and engineers to come up with some sort of U.S. response to show that America's space program was equal to -- or even better than -- that of the Soviet Union.

What Were America's Immediate Responses to Sputnik? Communications satellites have come a long way since the late-1950s launch of SCORE; today more than 1,100 orbit the earth. The first American response to the Soviet successes with Sputniks I and II came on January 31, 1958, when the United States successfully launched its first satellite, called Explorer I. Aboard this maiden U.S. satellite was scientific equipment that led to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt. But just over a month later, the U.S. space program experienced a setback when it launched a second satellite, Explorer II, which failed to achieve orbit. However, on March 17, 1958, the United States successfully launched its Vanguard I satellite into orbit, which was followed roughly two months later by the Soviet launch of Sputnik III. To better oversee the U.S. space program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was formed on October 1, 1958.

What Was the First Communications Satellite Called? To help put the United States on an equal or even superior footing with the Soviets, the newly formed Advanced Research Projects Agency was tasked with the development of the world's first communications satellite. Dubbed Project SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the program's dual goals were to test the capabilities of the Atlas rocket as a space launch vehicle and to test the feasibility of a communications relay system in space.

What Message Was Broadcast from SCORE? Scheduled to be launched during the holiday season in 1958, the directors of Project SCORE decided it might be appropriate for its satellite to relay a seasonally appropriate greeting from space to Earth. The brief message was recorded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and transmitted into the satellite's tape recorder shortly before launch. Here's what Eisenhower's message said: "This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite traveling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means I convey to you and all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere."

Photo credit: SDASM Archives, Vu Long z2