How Did The Space Race Affect The Economic System

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In the late 1940’s, the cold war began. The war was a long period of stiffness between democratic countries (Western World) and communist countries (Eastern Europe). The United States (U.S.) led the West and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) led the East. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were known as the superpowers. Even though they did not officially declare war on one another; they fought each other in proxy wars, the arms race, and the space race. Each side attempted to prove the greatness of their political system. The U.S.S.R was the first to fuel the fire of the Space Race by launching their first rocket, Sputnik 1, in the year 1957. A month later, the U.S.S.R. sent Sputnik 2 into space, which sent the first animal into orbit. While the Soviet Union was making progress, the …show more content…

From the years 1958-1970, Defense’s budget increased; however, NASA’s budget decreased. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy (J.F.K) stood before Congress to give a special message on urgent national needs. He asked for an extra seven to nine billion dollars throughout the next five years in the space program (NASA); Congress gave J.F.K the money he requested. From the years 1961-1964, NASA’s budget grew almost 500 percent. The lunar landing program eventually called for 34,000 NASA workers and 375,000 workers of industrial and university contractors. During the Space Race, the U.S government received many good and bad judgements from the people. From start to finish, U.S citizens were fascinated by the Space Race. The diverse developments of the U.S.S.R and the U.S space programs were covered in national media. Astronauts (U.S) were seen as American heroes and Cosmonauts (U.S.S.R) were seen as villains. The thoughts of American citizens may have been negative when the Soviet Union accomplished another achievement, but at the end, the citizens were satisfied with their countries performances and their win of the Space

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