B-29 reconnaissance aircraft (RB-29) flies for the first time off the coast of Siberia, using oblique photography to gather military information. Specifically, it covers the Chukotsky Peninsula, the Bering Strait, and the Kola Peninsula. The aircraft reaches within three nautical miles of the coast, a distance recognized by the US, but due to fierce Soviet protests, subsequent flights will be 12 miles from the coast, then 40 miles, and then 20 miles. Eisenhower later attempts to pass an open skies policy, allowing them to verify each other’s nuclear weapons status and avoid conflict, but the Soviets firmly oppose it. Eisenhower then falls back on the same concept, but using satellites from space. While the United States is racking its brains over the legality of this initiative, the Soviets launch Sputnik and pull the chestnuts out of the fire, effectively accepting this policy. It will make a difference for the entire world, both in terms of the strategic information that allows the two superpowers to sit at the negotiating table in an “informed” manner, and in terms of the green light to populate space with satellites, regardless of nationality.
