Sputnik I was the first artificial satellite launched into space. This was done by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. At this time, the US was months away from launching a satellite into space.
In order to "catch up" to the Soviet Union and their technological development, the US education system started to focus more heavily on the subjects of math and science. The United States government was concerned that if the Soviet Union had more advanced technology than we did, that they would be able to launch attacks on the us that would be catastrophic.
This shift towards math, science, and engineering helps lead to the development of NASA.