In the early days of the space race, the Soviet Union racked up a lot of firsts.

Sputnik, the first satellite, like of the dog the first animal in space,

Yuri Gagarin the first animal in space, Ury Gagarin the first man in space, Valentina Terchova,

the first woman, Zand 5 the first spacecraft to the moon.

Meanwhile America's space program lagged, plagued by setback after setback.

There were some successes, but not enough to keep pace with the Soviets.

America was still planning its first satellite while Sputnik circled the Earth.

Then Sputnik 2 and up.

American citizens were terrified.

What if the Russians put weapons in space?

Maybe they already have. Paranoia was starting to become

hysteria. President Eisenhower was under pressure to act and to act fast. The

United States government knew what it had to do, create an organization to develop the most technologically advanced military systems in the world.

And just three months after Sputnik II was launched, the Advanced Research Project Agency, or Arpa, was born.

Later Arpa became Darpa, the D stands for defense.

Because Darpa would be both a sword and a shield, creating offensive weapons and defensive systems.

No project was too expensive, and no program was to immoral.

DARPA's secret research would cost many lives,

but sacrifices had to be made for the sake of security.

But after all these years, it's time to ask,

who are they really protecting?

Here's the scene.

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