February 05, 2007 — Fifty years ago this October, the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched, marking the start of the U.S.-Soviet race to space. 

To commemorate that event, the Viterbi School’s Distance Education Network has made a webcast (1 hr 10 min) of the lecture, “Road to Space,” publicly available.  The lecture is presented by USC Professor Mike Gruntman, chair of the Viterbi School Astronautics and Space Technology Division.

The lecture focuses on the history of rocketry and many of the events that led up to the start of the space age in the 1950s.  The presentation can be viewed on a standard PC with Windows Media Player and high-speed Internet connection.

To view the webcast, go to http://den.usc.edu/prospectives/roadtospace.htm