American Vs. Russian Space Program

By examining the two nations’ early space technology, it is evident that Russia was initially superior in this regard. Launching the world’s first-ever artificial satellite — called Sputnik I — in October of 1957, the USSR chalked

(Anonymous, 2017). The USSR leader, Nikita Khruschev, stated that the “economy, science, culture and the creative genius of people in all areas of life develop better and faster under communism” after the Soviets’ initial achievements in the Race (see Appendix ii). (Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum, 2013). Sergey Korolyov, head of the USSR Space efforts, stated the USSR’s mission would be “to ensure that the Soviet rockets fly higher and farther than has been accomplished anywhere else up until now …, to ensure that a Soviet man be the first to fly in a rocket … and … to ensure that it is Soviet rockets and Soviet spaceships that are the first to master the limitless space of the cosmos.” (Garcia & Lusigan,

The Cold War was an all-encompassing face of the 20th century, world politics, and a major idea during this time was domination of the skies. The United States competed against The Soviet Union in a war unlike any other, they didn’t fight with guns, bombs, or war machines but with science and the battlefield was space. The prioritization of the space race on the national agenda was characterized by an urgency, which underscored the commitment to the U.S. to defeat the Soviet Union by all means necessary. This came at the cost of billions of dollars, resources, lives, and political forces.

The Space Race is a pivotal part of the Cold War’s history. During the ending of World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated a military, political, and technological supremacy battle. There was no physical fighting, instead both superpowers competed through space exploration. Between 1957-1969 the United States and the Soviet Union battled to overcome and take control over space which led to tensions alleviating in the 1970’s causing the pressure and necessity to decrease resulting in both superpowers collaborating in many tasks. Many of the technology that dealt with space exploration began with military affiliations. The

The Space Race was an immense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union beginning in the late 1950s. They fought over supremacy for space flight and technology, each side wanting to show the world their power and their capability to explore the unknown. They both created shuttles and rockets in hopes to prove their own worth, while also using this technology to spy on one another. Each country also needed public support and cooperation to back these projects for future advancements. Many political tensions between Democracy and its antagonistic counterpart, Communism, arose leading to new technological advancements, while the media began to publicize these advances worldwide, and beliefs like nationalism became implemented that would raise the importance of the space race to all.

The feud between the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) lasted from the end of World War II until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The fuel that powered their feud was the desire to be the greater superpower. After World War II ended, the USSR gained control of Eastern Germany. On the night of August 13, 1961, a wall was constructed that divided the already separate East and West Berlin. This wall would become what was known around the world as the Berlin Wall. It stood as a barrier to freedom from the East Berliners. The Berlin Wall in Germany caused the USSR to lose the Space Race to the United States in 1969 because the USSR was communist, they

During the Cold War, the United States and Russia had a severe space race between one another. Every time one country would be a step ahead of the other, and somehow one of the countries would catch up to the more advanced country at the time. During the early years of the space race, success was measured by what nation did what first: To the alarm of the United States, each of the early adventures were achieved by the Soviet Union. And all of those events triggered the United States to drive and catch up with to surpass the Soviet Union. This sort of see-saw method happen throughout the space race. Throughout this paper, there will be a discussion on the space race between the United Stated and

Barely even half a decade after World War II, the world would again enter a war of a different nature where tensions between United States and Soviet Union would continue to rise as both sides threatened to use weaponry that if used would evidently lead to mutual and total destruction. Known as the Cold War, these two nations with their respective alliances, NATO and Warsaw Pact, would be in constant political conflict caused by their clashing ideologies and beliefs. In what would later be known as the Space Race, to stay ahead of the other in technological advancements these two nations would compete against each other in the exploration of the world beyond earth,serving as a showcase of more advanced rocket technology that could be applied

“Sputnik marked the beginning of the "space race," a period of nearly twenty years during which fierce US and Soviet competition spurred both countries to make rapid progress in aeronautic engineering,” (Lee). This period of time birthed a new program from the American government, called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. NASA has been building rockets, training astronauts, and studying space for the benefit of science, the government, and the people of America since 1958. Unfortunately, many people don't realize how important NASA is, and there have been efforts made to stop the government from funding NASA. This program is essential for increasing knowledge of outer space, protecting planet Earth, and creating

Space exploration was born out of the intense competition between the two great superpowers of the 20th century. The space race was a byproduct of the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both sides devoted immense resources and manpower to attempt to surpass the other in astronautical achievement. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the approach towards space exploration changed dramatically. What began as a fierce competition between major powers became a partnership involving many nations working together. Space exploration projects, like the International Space Station, are only feasible through international joint effort, and because of this have helped to foster more cooperative relations between countries – not only diplomatically, but also economically.

Did you know that the Soviet Union was the first to launch something outside of Earth’s orbit? In the 1960’s, the Soviet Union speed up the advancement of space science, faster than the United States ever could, during the Space Race. First of all, they were the first to start the Space Race and continually kept going onward to try new concepts and/or more concepts. On the other hand, the Soviet Union were more focused on witnessing who’s better. Finally, the Soviet Union were the ones who sent multiple of inventions into space, but still had a bunch of trial and error and learned what worked and what didn’t work.

Von Braun the leader of the scientists had discussed with the other chief designers about the possibility of surrendering to the Americans. Cadbury states that the German scientists decided that the best solution would be to go to the Americans because they had the capabilities of creating a functional space program (14). In order to achieve this they would have to be very careful not to get caught because if they were it would be considered treason and they would be executed by the government. A few months before the war ended the entire V2 experimental team and their research made the move from Peenemünde to Mittelwerk which was the production base for the V2 missile which was made with slave labor. At Mittelwerk the German scientists were “guarded” by the SS who had orders to shoot them rather than let them fall into enemy hands. The German scientists meanwhile made plans for their getaway by buying an abandoned mine in order to store the years of research that they had gained and also turned their guards away from their mission and had them become regular soldiers and surrender to the Americans alongside them. The U.S army and the Soviet intelligence agency NKVD had been tracking the rocketeers and had been trying to recruit them. On the second of May the German scientists finally encountered the Americans and they were all taken by the American Army into

We have dreamt of spaceflight since ancient times. Humans have developed and thought of many ways to acquire this immense feat and it wasn’t till the 20th century mankind were able to build rockets powerful enough to overcome the force of gravity. Since then, we’ve successfully sent mankind to the moon, rovers to mars and space probes deep into the reaches of our solar system. Nations have striven to advance and attain great heights in the field of space exploration. The constant competitiveness between USA and USSR during the cold war led to many major breakthroughs in the history of space exploration beginning with USSR launching the first international space station and USA successfully landing a human on the moon. The international space station (ISS) stands as the basis of how international collaboration can affect space exploration. Even though some nations are unwilling to work together, space exploration provides a platform for nations to form relationships that benefits one another and create beneficial relationships with each other.

Russia and China have the largest, most capable space programs of all countries in the world outside of the United States. Therefore, the status of their programs and endeavors in space missions and actions are of the upmost concern to our nation and global scientific achievement. The state of current events point to a future of vast changes in the global space community due to Russia’s mired Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities and China’s ever advancing National Space Administration (CNSA). I will present you with a brief summary of each space programs’ significant developments and events, focusing on the previous 6 months and projecting for the year ahead.

Space exploration refers to the exploration and discovery of outer space’s celestial structures by means of the ever-growing space technology, which is continuously evolving. Space physical exploration is conducted by using unmanned robotic probes. Human spaceflight is also used for space exploration. The history of space exploration dates back to the 20th century when the world’ most powerful states such as Russia and the United states scrambled for superiority. Space exploration therefore became a sense of pride and extreme manpower leading to development of space vehicles, which attempted to reach space. The space exploration programs were conducted by government space agencies mainly of the United States and Soviet Union due to the sensitivity and huge finances involved. With time, private organizations began to purchase and offer space launches, laying ground for private space flight. Satellite radio, communications satellites, astronaut transport, satellite television and sub-orbital space tourism comprise the Earth orbit’s private space lift.