Why was sputnik so significant to both the soviets and the americans?

Sputnik I was the world's first ever artificial satellite that launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. This marked the start of the "space age" which pushed the race between the US and the USSR in the field. Because of this "competition", many scientific discoveries were made to study and even travel to outer space.

The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States (Article VI, Clause 2), establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and thus take priority over any conflicting state laws.