Lesson 1: Origins

The origin of computer networking is in the Cold War era, a stand-off between the two nuclear superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. This arms race pitted the technological capabilities of each country against those of the other.

In 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first orbiting satellite. With this launch, the supposedly low-tech Soviets had leap-frogged past the Americans into space, setting off great concern in the U.S., since such satellite communications could be used to guide nuclear missles over long distances.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower urgently established several government agencies to meet the new need for technology development. Most notably, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was immediately created, and in January of 1958, the U.S. launched its own orbiting satellite, the Explorer I.

That same year, Eisenhower also established the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to rapidly develop a variety of technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense.

In 1962, ARPA created the Information Processing Techniques (IPTO) to explore information technology issues.

This chapter was written by Jeff Nyhoff and Joel Adams. Copy editing by Nancy Zylstra
©2005 Calvin University (formerly Calvin College), All Rights Reserved

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