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Compare And Contrast The Cold War Space Race

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Cold War Era Space Race versus Current Space Race The first space race may have ended, but another one has just begun. The finish line is to put the first human on Mars. The current race is not one between two countries, but within one country among multibillion dollar corporations in the United States. The space race of the Cold War Era was one of great ingenuity and accomplishment which opened the door for space exploration and travel. These races do share one major similarity in that the goal of both was and is to make the United States a leader in space exploration; however, the reasons and participants in each race are very different. After World War II, during the Cold War era, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States was a tense and competitive one with each wanting to maintain the role as the world’s superpower, especially militarily and technologically. The Soviet Union took the initiative to become superior in the space field by successfully launching the first artificial Earth satellite on October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1. Then, just one month later, on November 3, 1957, Russia launched the spacecraft, Sputnik 2, into orbit which had the first living passenger, a dog named Laika. “The United States, locked in a Cold War with the Soviet Union, realized that if the Russians had …show more content…

One particular thing that has stayed throughout the years though, is the United States superiority in space travel and space exploration. The United States is unmatched in its proficiency in these fields. Their expertise in these fields is demonstrated perfectly with their rapid innovation of past technologies and ideas allowing them to go above and beyond where they previously thought impossible. The United States is now using that technological innovation to help them in their next step in space exploration, to land a man on

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Now that the Space Race is over, what is the point? Are we wasting our money? Should we cut their budget? When the cold war ended with the soviets in 1991, it sparked up a debate as to whether or not the funding for the National Aeronautics and space administration should be continued. Although it may seem like a simple fix, it has proved to be one of NASA’s greatest and most difficult challenges yet.

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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.

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The United States viewed the space race as a way to stop the spread of communism and prevent the spread of the Soviet Union's influence on Western European nations including France, Italy, and Greece (“The Space Race”). They also used their acomplishments to create new alliances or strengthen old ones as well as spread capitalism. While In the Soviet Union the race and war were seen as a way to strengthen and expand the communist system. They used their success to showcase the superiority of communism (Schlesinger,

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Between the years of 1947 and 1991 the USSR and the United States remained in a long period of tension known as The Cold War. This war was a state of political and economical in proxy wars such as the space race and the arms race the lead to the weakening of American society and laws. Marking the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed due to their economic failure and their approach to the space race. As the Cold War intensified there was a significant increase in infrastructures and military, a shift in education, and there was an overall fear in society. Education in the United States began to focus on science instead of general education in an attempt to try and win the “space race” against the Soviet Union.

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and the Soviet Union. This war was not fought with weapons but with technology to see who could out due each other. The space race came from this. Both the U.S. and Russia were trying to see who could send satellites and people into space. In the end the U.S. won the space race.

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After witnessing the decline of new innovations by the world’s space programs since the ‘60s, he

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The purpose of this speech is to get the USA motivated to charge forward in the scientific community mainly backing the Apollo program and show the Russians that our technology is far superior to theirs. The setting was September 12, 1962 during the height of the cold war and space race. The speaker demonstrates his credibility (ethos) by showing us his knowledge of scientific events that changed the world and scientific facts such as how fast objects reenter the atmosphere showing that he knows a few things about space and he should be trustworthy when it comes to policies regarding space. Kennedy demonstrates his Knowledge of the Mariner spacecraft by

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According to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, the space race began In 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite which the United States saw as a challenge to see who could make the most technological advancements within the following decade (Space Program).Shortly after the race began, the Soviet Union sent Yuri Gagarin into space, and he became the first man to Orbit the earth, the United States saw this as a sign that they were falling behind their competition (Space Program).The space race aimed to determine a superior nation between the United States and the Soviet Union, in the beginning the Soviet Union was clearly in the lead so the people of the United States were even more united with the common goal of being a superior nation. According to the National Cold War Exhibition at the Royal

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he first chapter of The Cold War: A New History begins by comparing the United States to the U.S.S.R. and talking about the similarities between the two. It also talks about Communism and how Marx deemed it necessary in order to build up the economy. Lenin tried to implement Communism in Russia. They were not quite ready for that kind of system, so Stalin tried to modernize the economy. The U.S.S.R. had more casualties in World War II, but things were not necessarily looking great in America either.

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Our Journey to the Moon On September 12, 1962 President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in Houston, Texas at Rice Stadium. This 18 minute long speech was made to convince the people of the United States as to why we should go to the moon. The “We choose to go to the Moon” speech was written by both John F. Kennedy and his speech writer, Ted Sorensen (Press). The purpose behind this speech was to gain America’s support and to get everyone on board with the idea of space exploration. The reason for the embarkment of space exploration was due to the ongoing space race between the U.S. and the USSR.

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Social and political factors are the driving force behind successful innovations. Political intervention can help open up new markets, which would otherwise remain unavailable. During the cold war, the United States funded and pushed many innovations in order to ensure its success in the space race. The reason the government spent so much money and put in so much effort was that they wanted to improve the country’s national defense. They were concerned with the Soviet Union’s scientific and technological research so they decided to combat them by increasing funding in R&D.

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Some historians believe the Cold War was inevitable because of the hostilities from both America and the Soviet Union after World War II. America believed that the USSR was an expansionist country trying to spread an evil, communistic idea throughout the world. Although the countries never directly fought against each other, as they only fought in proxy wars, there was still extreme conflict. The United States responded to the Soviets actions in Germany, Europe, and their national actions. These responses were justifiable, or so many Americans at the time believed.

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On September 12, 1962, at Rice University in Houston Texas, John F. Kennedy gave a powerful speech to garner support for the funding of the space race for the USA. He stated the importance of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade in its efforts against the Soviet Union and the expectation was met in 1969 by the astronaut Neil Armstrong. His speech forged a new path that the US was heading and inherently started the revolution of the exploration of outer space. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech” makes use of ethos and Kairos to persuade the people of America to become interested in and invest in the ongoing space race. A very important factor in JFK’s speech was his effective use of rhetoric, notably ethos, which he used to make himself become more believable and authoritative.

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"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. " This well known quote by the renowned astronaut Neil Armstrong forever marked the beginning of a new age as the Space Race came to its final chapter. The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era was a pivotal period in the history of space exploration, where these two global superpowers aim to compete for technological superiority in military and space. While both the United States and the Soviet Union gained significant benefits from the Space Race in terms of technological advancements, scientific discoveries, and national prestige, the United States emerged as the primary beneficiary due to its long-lasting impact on space exploration and technological innovation.

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The schools started changing; their curriculums became much stronger in math and science. It was more a goal to develop an engineer than attorney; it just really affected our schools.” From this quotation one can see that the space race influenced the education in the United States and changed it for the better. Bradt says, “Though Sputnik was a relatively simple satellite compared with the more complex machines to follow, its beeping signal from space galvanized the United States to enact reforms in science and engineering education so that the nation could regain technological ground it appeared to have lost to its Soviet rival” (Bradt). Although the Sputnik was not known to be technologically advanced it was the first thing to orbit the earth, it stunned people in the United States and caused an instant response.

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