What effect did the soviet union's launch of sputnik have on the united states?

The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik was really a wake up call for the United States. America was still basking in the glory of winning World War ll and thought that they were the best and that no one could beat them. When we realized that the Soviets were ahead of us in the space race, President Kennedy scrambled to catch up (NASA was created). But, no one was really sure about what Sputnik did. Citizens thought that it could tap into radio waves and spy on them or take pictures of what they were doing (It was really just a satellite), but the unknown really scared Americans.