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Why Did The Us Enter The Competition In Space Technology

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Every day 2,721 satellites orbit around Earth helping people communicate through texts, calls and social media. Some are as small as postage stamps, while some are as large as a football field, but the first ever satellite launched into space was a Russian satellite called Sputnik 1. The only task Sputnik 1 could do was transmit beeping sounds to receivers on Earth, but that was enough to make the U.S. feel like they were not the most powerful country in the world anymore. The U.S. joined the competition in space technology and thus, the space began. From 1957 to 1967 the Unites States and Russia competed to achieve many "firsts" in space, however, President Eisenhower was not threatened by Russia's accomplishments unlike many other government …show more content…

spent so much time and money on space technology was the ability to fire long range missiles and to increase surveillance on the Soviets (Iannotta). In WWII the nuclear warheads used on Japan were dropped from a plane, which isn't the most effective or safest way to deploy a nuclear weapon. To hit targets far away, the U.S. and Russia began to develop ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles), which can carry the nuclear warheads up to 10,000 km away. In 1957 Russia created the first ICBM, which meant they could attack the U.S. without sending over a single troop. Another advantage of an ICBM is it's speed, even by 2016 there is no sure way to stop one if it is launched. Military engineers have described it as "trying to hit a bullet with another bullet" (Iannotta). By 1967, the U.S. had 31,255 warheads which is enough end the world. However, with all these extremely destructive weapons, there may be more peace. The idea behind this concept is called "mutually assured destruction", it argues that since nuclear warheads are unstoppable and so plentiful, when a country commits an offensive attack, the defending country will just strike back with a nuclear weapon. For example, if Russia launched a nuclear warhead to hit the U.S., the U.S. would detect it when it's travelling, and would respond with a nuke of their own. This would lead to mass destruction which is why an ICBM has never actually been used. In fact the two bombs dropped on Japan were

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The USSR got a head start, capturing more materials from Germany than the United States. They immediately launched into action, building spacecraft and learning in the process. In turn, they were the first to send a man-made object into space. This Russian satellite was named Sputnik 1. After the United States got word of the Russian success, many Americans criticized the U.S. government for losing focus on their Space Program as well as military and education.

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When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik , the world's first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957, many Americans believed that this Cold War event signaled dangerous weaknesses in American science, the failure of American schools and complacency in American political leadership. Most disturbing was the fear that the Soviet Union had grabbed a decisive lead in the development of long-range missiles. Robert Divine analyzes the space race in the early 1950’s with Russia and how it affected the American space race program as a whole. Sputnik had a long-lasting effect on American life, spurring a national debate over the state of education, science, space exploration and security that lasted well into the 1960s. The principal focus of this clear-sighted

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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”).

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Wyatt Short Professor Justice English 0804-L03 27 March 2017 Nuclear warfare came about during World War II, after Leo Szilard Germen scientist who studied chemistry, found out that there is a way to spilt an atom or combine the atom that causes a violent physics, decided to write Roosevelt a letter explaining Hitler might be on the verge of creating his own bomb that would give him a far greater lead in the war. They found out that splitting the nuclei or combining them creates a violent reaction In 1941 Franklin started to discover his own nuclear warfare. Even though the Nazis were close to have the power in their control, people think this type of warfare is a cruel and unusual punishment and should not be used in war, but

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After the Soviet Union made the first of many achievements, such as the first moonwalk, the U.S. wasn’t far behind and was determined to achieve what the Soviets achieved and more. The Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions were all big steps for the U.S. toward a man on the moon. It wasn’t until 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and the U.S. supposedly won the Space Race. After twenty years of the Cold War still taking place, the Berlin Wall fell and eventually the Soviet Union did as well. After this time, the U.S. and Russia “entered into cooperative agreements, most notably the assembly and occupation of the International Space Station.”

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The launch of Sputnik initially escalated tensions between Russia and America to hostile levels due to American fear and suspicion towards the USSR. Though the initial shock brought turmoil to America and the Soviet-American relations, the launch also brought positive outcomes. First, the launch of Sputnik initiated a series of programs like NDEA which leads the investment in education, especially in scientific research to foster new generations of engineers. Sputnik also paved the way for the creation of such eminent space programs like NASA and DARPA, which in turn created great advances in space technology of the twentieth century. Second, the competitive drive between the two powers in the space race eventually led to a man on the moon and many other fantastic achievements in space science.

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The backdrop of the Cold War between the United States and The Soviet Union through the mid-to-late 20th century promoted multiple international policies that reflected the tensions and the hostilities between the bipolar world. The conflicts not only remained on Earth, but what has been termed as a “space race” occurred after the USSR launched the world’s first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit in October 4th, 1957. The politics of space seemed suddenly more vital than it ever had before, and serious political thought was contemplated. What could space have to offer that would benefit for humanity? As the two superpowers competed over the next decade, the questions became more difficult.

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The Space Race: During the Cold War, the United

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It could go many different ways, say they target a major country like Russia then Russia with all the nuclear weapons their country has could destroy North Korea, which isn’t the bad part. In the result of North Korea being destroyed, when that country is destroyed its allies will launch missiles at Russia then again Russia will launch them back. Eventually Nuclear Warfare will start and the death total would increase rapidly. For example if the United States got involved which we probably would some country could launch a missile at say New York City where 8.406 million people live most of those people would die. Another major country that would most likely get involved would be China someone could target Hong Kong where 7.188 million people live most of them would die.

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Nuclear bombs is a sort of technology that would hurt the human race if released into the world more than once. As well as our technology use to “help” us, but instead gets rid of our focus in life and makes us lazy to do anything to the world or try to succeed in helping the world. Technology humans created would soon be our desintegration. Once again as Omar Bradley once told the world, we shouldn’t be arrogant or incoherent to continue with technology without the proper safety regulations that needs to be sent across the universe. Without the proper security humanity will soon perish with the use of our own

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NASA was introduced and given purpose by the simple pre-amble stating, “[NASA is] an act for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere, and for other purposes,” (Garber and Launius). Another reason for the creation of NASA was so that the US could contribute to the International Geophysical Year by launching and orbiting a satellite, as approved by President Eisenhower (The Editors of Kennedy Space Center). This satellite that Eisenhower approved was called Project Vanguard and used a simple non-military rocket to get into space (which was a conscious decision considering that the Cold War was raging at this point in time). Though this was a great step for NASA, the hype from this launch didn’t last long simply because the Soviets took the next step, and it was a big one. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite (more technologically advanced) of the

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Nuclear weapons are deadly enough to annihilate entire countries in a matter of seconds; the receiving end would not have a substantial amount of time to act: “Furthermore, nobody in the Western Hemisphere ever saw the face of a human enemy. Very few actually saw an enemy aircraft or submarine, and missiles appeared only on the most sensitive radar screens. Most of those who died in North

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During the Cold War, the tension between the United States and Soviet Union heightened as both nations fought for the title of ultimate superpower. Attempting to exhibit superiority, the two countries challenged each other through satellite and spacecraft technological advancements. Satellites, at the time, were not a recent innovation; the United States government already used communication satellites for intelligence gathering and military operations (Rob Frieden 697). Yet, the USSR's launching of Sputnik and the Yuri Gagarin flight in 1957 and 1961 respectively, the Kennedy administration sought to develop an international satellite communication system that would "directly benefit people throughout the world and enhance national prestige"

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“Hostile countries are more likely to have a war in which they may use nuclear bombs against each other, and the result could prove disastrous for the entire planet.” (Resource 2). Since nuclear bombs are in our hands, these bombs can do harm to many things. From nuclear bombs, plants and animals with habitats that can be demolished in hours. Not only can it kill plants and animals, it can also kill massive amounts of humans.

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604 Words | 3 Pages

The Sputnik Crisis was a “period of public fear and anxiety of a perceived technological gap between the United States and the Soviet Union.” (The Sputnik Crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_crisis) Two months after the launch of Sputnik, the U.S constructed the first U.S unmanned satellite. President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics

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