Well to be realistic here, the USSR put the first hardware on the moon I believe. MIR was in use a long time (Longer than any US station).
They put the first man in space...the list goes on.
So they didn't just put a "simple transmitter in low earth orbit" and quit. (the Space shuttle is actually a low earth orbit vehicle btw).
Those of us who were around during the Space Race recall the anticipation of each new launch and endeavor from both sides of the world.
It is still a pretty exciting thing.
Kudos to NASA on a succesful landing, it's going to be an interesting few weeks.
cheers,
RTR
