Pros And Cons Of The Space Race

Another primary reason The Space Race worsened the tension between the U.S. and the Soviets was the attempts from both nations to establish deadly nuclear weapons in space using rockets. This can be exemplified, again by the fact that the Venera that was launched in February 12, 1961 and Vostok that was launched in April 12, 1961 were all launched launched using an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to enter space. (History.com Staff *3) The United States’ fear of the soviets using ICBM’s can be seen in the speech my Dwight D. Eisenhower where he addresses Science in National Security. In Eisenhower’s speech after he talks about the the Venera and how it was launched using an ICBM, he says, “The Soviets continue to concentrate on the

This is because no defensive system today can possibly be airtight in preventing all breakthroughs of planes and weapons”(Eisenhower *2). This demonstrates how scary of a moment the launching of the Sputnik, Venera, and Vostok were for the Americans because they thought, if the Soviets were able to launch satellites and space pods into space, then maybe they’re able to launch nuclear missiles too. (History.com Staff *3) The Soviets had the ability to dispatch an atomic weapon at the United States from Space without America having a similar preferred standpoint. This dread brought on the National Defense Education Act. Through this demonstration more than five billion dollars was put into training relating to Science and the humanities, encouraging the Americans yearning to win the Space Race. (John F. Kennedy *6) This created intensified the tensions between the Soviets and the U.S. because it left both nations competing to have the upper hand in nuclear weaponry technology