an effort to contain this perceived communist aggression but the conflict was not resolved and resulted in a stalemate ending in 1953. The Cold War evolved with the development of ever increasingly powerful weapons in both countries. The USA built a hydrogen bomb…Russia followed. The Cold War extended into space. Russia launched Sputnik on October 4th, 1957. In 1958 the U. S. launched Explorer I, designed by the U. S. Army under Wernher von Braun…the launch vehicle being a Jupiter missile. In 1961 Russia’s Khrushchev was providing Cuba with military aid. In April 1961 President Kennedy authorizes the CIA plan to invade Cuba given their allegiance to Russia and the introduction of Communism to that nation island. That effort failed. Kennedy announced that if the military buildup in Cuba became offensive in nature, then the U.S.A. would be forced to respond. On the 14th of October, 1962, American U-2 reconnaissance planes photographed nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba. Oct 16, 1962, Crisis Day 1: President Kennedy assembles 13 cabinet members and top-level advisors to discuss possible responses. Group is known as the Executive Committee of the National Security Council or EXCOMM. On the 19th of October, Crisis Day 4: Additional reconnaissance photos revealed longer-range ballistic missile sites in Cuba.