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Space Race Research Paper

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The Race to Outer Space
How was the United States involved in the Space Race and how did this impact the American status and relations internationally?

Stephanie Cheng
US History
Soublet B2
April 8, 2015

Introduction
The Cold War was a time of not only military tension, but also political tension between the opposing sides. The superpower nations opposing each other were the United States and the Soviet Union. The reason for such tensions was mainly because the two superpowers were of completely different organizational structure and held opposing morals and beliefs: one being a Marxist state while the other being a capitalist state. After both nations announced in 1955 that they would start launching ballistic missiles, …show more content…

There were many specific reasons, factors and incentives that led to the start of the space race. In summary, the US and Soviet Union engaged in the Space Race in hopes of strengthening national security as well as foreign objectives which resulted in turning space into an area for military competition. But when delving deeper and taking a closer look, there are very specific reasons and events that caused the Space Race to emerge.

The Cold War was a time of mistrust and unfriendly relations between the US and the USSR due to events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Vietnam War, The Berlin Wall and the U-2 Crisis. This was a result of the clash between the ideals of the two nations – communism against capitalism. Both nations were thirsty for power, domination and sought out any sort of expansion in any part of the world. The natural competitive nature that stirred up the Space Race was already fostered over time due to the Cold War. Thus, the Cold War was one of the main reasons why the two nations decided to …show more content…

His words accurately summed up the mindset of the Americans in this period of time and he shows the determination the Americans possessed in their hearts. If this project were to be successful, the United States would be sure to grab victory. Not only was this decision crucial for the American progress and success of its participation in the space race, Kennedy helped propel the American space program forward significantly. He was a very prominent figure who contributed greatly to the success of the space program due to his ambition as demonstrated through the call for a Moon landing. Not only was Kennedy ambitious in helping the American space program develop, he was willing to work with the Soviets in order to move mankind’s scientific development forward by proposing a joint space program. On September 20, 1963, Kennedy proposed a US and USSR joint space program knowing the benefits of cost and the technological gains from a joint treaty. Despite knowing the benefits, Nikita Krushchev, the leading Russian political, denied the offer after changing his mind multiple times due to the existent mistrust between the nations. This shows the continuous bad relations that existed between the competitive nations from the Cold War. The fact that at some point Krushchev

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