Sputnik Moment: The Race For Space And World Prestige

“This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” stated Neil Armstrong, the first man who walked on the moon. In just a few words, Armstrong summarized the importance of space exploration for mankind. However, space was not only of scientific importance; space also played a significantly political role during the Cold War era. The battle for supremacy between the two super powers, the USA and the USSR, was not just limited to the Earth, as the competition between these powers had extended into space. The competition in spaceflight capability had its origins in the nuclear arms race between the USA and the USSR, since spaceflight capability demonstrated the ability of each power to launch Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs),

Kennedy and the Race to the Moon and Eisenhower’s Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige, is to assess their authors’ historical approaches with regards to the main supporting arguments that each author presents in their analysis. An extensive analysis of the historical approaches of Logsdon and Mieczkowski is essential, as these approaches shape their supporting arguments, which constitute the backbones of their works. In support of his thesis, Logsdon elaborates on three factors which influenced the grand-scale of Kennedy’s space policies: his personal character, his success in sufficiently funding space programs and his choice of a team of qualified advisers on issues regarding space. Logsdon states that even though Kennedy was not particularly interested in the topic of space before he was already in the Oval Office, Kennedy’s competitive character and the successful mission of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin resulted in his pursuit of the Apollo Project . Despite his competitive nature, however, Logsdon highlights the fact that Kennedy was bold enough to try to convince the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to work together to send a human to the Moon. Khrushchev rejected Kennedy’s offer, because he believed there could be no cooperation between the two powers until they agreed to a mutual nuclear disarmament program, and Kennedy, demonstrating the steadfastness and the perseverance of the USA regarding the Space Race, stated in a speech that the USA would seek cooperation but it would also compete, fiercely, if necessary . Additionally, Kennedy’s “media-savvy” personality enabled his televised speeches and his responses to the popular questions raised by reporters to successfully dispel the feelings of fear and humiliation among the American citizens and comfort them, by convincing them that the USA would eventually achieve victory in the Space Race. Secondly, Logsdon tries to illustrate the