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The space race between america and russia
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The same year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed (“The Space Race”). In 1959, the Soviet Union sent a man, Yuri Gagarin, into orbit around the earth on the satellite Luna 2. The U.S. responded by launching Mercury-Redstone 3 into space carrying
Soon after the Cold War came to an end, the United States and the USSR both began military technological advancements. If the USSR could get missiles into space, they could set them off at anyone anywhere. In the interest of protecting America and possibly the rest of the world, the main objective for the Space Race was to protect us against missiles from the USSR military. These advancements led to a competition between the US and the USSR to see who would be the first to space. America and the USSR were two of the most powerful countries in the entire world at that point in time.
In 1957, amidst the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite into space, Sputnik I, triggering the efforts of the United States to surpass the technological advances in spaceflight capability of its communist rivals. After Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in April of 1961, the United States became more eager to reach supremacy in what came to be known as space race. However, for that to be achieved, more government funds would be required, which strongly depended on the consent and support of the American people. So, on the 12th of September of 1962, the 37th President of the United States, John F Kennedy, cleared any doubts of the commitment the United States had regarding space exploration with a speech aimed at restoring America’s confidence and convincing the American people to wholeheartedly support a manned mission to the Moon and back in that decade.
government actions during the beginning of the space race was the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A few short months after Sputnik the U.S. attempted to launch its own Vanguard satellite. The rocket lifted off the pad at Cape Canaveral, FL and blew up shortly after. It was clear that the U.S. needed a more organized approach to winning the race against Russia.
The Space Race was a noteworthy and vital competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, both fighting for dominance and the lead in spaceflight technology, spacecraft, and achievements such as putting the first human into space. In the end, the U.S. had a fierce victory. However, this did not come easy. The hard work and dedication of people at NASA were the reason for this success.
The race continued until 1969 when Niel Armstrong set foot on the moon (Seedhouse 128). The first satellite the Soviet Union launched into orbit was called Sputnik and it came as an unpleasant surprise to many Americans (“The Space Race”). Historians argue that the Soviet Union won the space race on October 4 1957 with the launch of Sputnik, but most agree it was just the start to the race (Seedhouse 128). After the launch of Sputnik the United States launched their own satellite in 1958 called explorer 1 which was designed by the United States army. The race began to heat up and the Soviet Union launched Luna 2 which became the first space probe to hit the moon (“The Space Race”).
The rise of the Space Race started as the result of World War II when the Americans and Soviets went for the quest of discovery to find out how the Germans created one of the deadliest destructive missiles at that time; the V-2. During the end of World War II, Hitler asked his rocket engineer leader, Wernher Von Braun, and his team to create a rocket missile that could save the Third Reich. Von Braun and his team tested many designs and prototypes of rockets trying to increase their distance and power. Finally, through their effort, Von Braun successfully created a rocket that could travel over 200 miles. This rocket was called the V-2, after being created Hitler decided to attack England by launching the newly created V-2.
The Space Race seemed to only benefit the Soviets in the beginning. They were the first to launch Sputnik in 1957, and famously the first to put a man in space, Yuri Gagarin. According to historians though, these initial Soviet victories helped the United States to reach the moon first. In an effort to educate the public about the impacts of the original Soviet dominance in the war and how it helped propel the United States into the country who landed on the moon first, Asif Siddiqi, an esteemed space historian with a PhD from Fordham University stated, "In some ways, Sputnik and Gagarin were like gifts to NASA... You're not going to have a moon program without that kind of a shock.
The Space Race was a highly visible proxy for the deeper clash of competing economic, political, and social systems playing out across the globe. Beating the other side to space exploration first took on immense symbolic importance for both nations in this wider battle of ideologies. The U.S. cultivated astronaut celebrities like Armstrong and Aldrin to project American technological superiority through the guise of soft power during the space race against the Soviet
In the 1950s, space exploration became the way of competing to see who was superior and had the ability to make it to space first. Compared to the other methods of trying to outperform one another, the Space Race had benefits such as advancing science and technology, Kennedy’s inspiring moon speech, developing space programs, and bringing together the Soviet Union and United States. At the beginning of
They went on and launched a dog into space. Shortly after the Americans developed a space administration. The race ended when the United States landed on the moon in 1969. Neil Armstrong was the first person to be on the moon and he returned back safely, accomplishing their goal of demonstrating superiority in their
What was the “space race” and how was it related to the Cold War? During the beginning of the 1960’s, the Soviet Union and the United States were racing to put a man into space first. Russia was the first country to put a man into orbit, but America was the first country to have a man land on the moon. It related to the Cold War because of the political tensions between the U.S and Russia.
What exactly was the Space Race? What were the achievements that came from it? The Space Race was also referred as the ''Cold War'', where both the United States competed to see who was able to develop aerospace capabilities, artificial satellites, and human spaceflight. Both the U.S and Russia achieved objectives that made history in space data. The Soviet Union made the first successful launch in history, the launch of the Sputnik and even beat the U.S.
The American NASA Team was quickly able to replicate all the same accomplishments the U.S.S.R. achieved, within a year timeframe no less, all the under the Presidential administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. John F. Kennedy however showed much more urgency in the matter and saw a prime opportunity to strike up and rally the nation together by instilling nationalistic pride in the need to make the first man on the moon an American. Following the return of NASA’s human spaceflight program, Project Mercury, which put Alan Shepard as the first American outside of earths orbit on May 5, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress that the U.S. would become the first country to land on the moon by the end of the decade. President John F.
The Space Race all started on October 4th 1957 the Soviet Union launched a satellite named “Sputnik” this frightened the americans in a way because ,they thought that if the Soviet Union could launch a satellite into space they could easily launch a nuclear bomb that could very well harm their country. On Nov 3. the Russians launched another satellite that they called “Sputnik 2” it was bigger and more technologically advanced ,but the major difference between “Sputnik” and “Sputnik 2” was that “Sputnik 2” was carrying a dog “Laika”. “Laika” helped us prove that humans are able to withstand space exploration.