From Sputnik to Apollo 11 - nine giant leaps in the space race

It's a somewhat depressing indictment of human nature that international conflict has proven to be one of the prime drivers of technological innovation. And though the US and the Soviet Union never quite came to blows, the cold-war-induced space race of the 1950s and 1960s is perhaps one of the most striking examples of this phenomenon in action.

From the launch of Sputnik to the technology that put man on the moon, The Engineer brought an enquiring - and often surprisingly sceptical - perspective to the technological leaps made during this unparalleled period of cosmic oneupmanship.

Whilst they aren't intended to represent a comprehensive record of the era, the following stories provide a snapshot of some of The Engineer's fascinating archive coverage of this period and our story begins with a key moment: the first successful satellite launch.

The Soviet's launch of Sputnik 1 - the world's first artificial satellite - was a key moment in the history of the 20th Century that sent shockwaves around the world and was the catalyst for the space race.