Analysis Of Katherine Gobles Johnson 's ' The Space Race '

In the period after World War II, from the late 1940’s up until the 1990’s, the United States and their allies were engaged in a “cold” war with the Soviet Union and its allies. Except for minor proxy wars between countries supported by the respective sides, no major wars were fought between the U.S. and the USSR. Nonetheless, tensions were extremely high for many years and the two superpowers constantly went back and forth trying to best the other. Likely the most well-known of these competitions was the Space Race. Battling for cosmic supremacy from the late 1950’s to 1969, the two countries traded many victories over the years and pushed each other to their technological apexes.

On October 4th, 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first ever satellite, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik sent the United States into a frenzy, beginning the Space Race, and the innovation of technology as a whole. The Space Race most importantly had a major impact on the evolution of the United States’s defense technologies through the launch of Sputnik. The Space Race sparked the United States battle for technological superiority against the USSR, and lead to improvizations in their satellite and satellite defense technologies.

The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space. From 1955 until 1975, both sides battled it out to be the leader in the competition. Fueled by the Cold War and other causes of the beginning of the race, the Soviet Union and the United States fought for authority in a very public manner through the media. There were many achievements at this time and it led the way for many great things to come afterwards.

As stated in document A, the reaction of the Soviets launching Sputnik 1, which was the first ever satellite sent in to space, was more fear than surprise because it then showed that the United States ocean barriers weren’t enough to keep the Soviet Union away. Also that the Americans could no longer say that Russia was behind them in technology, as it took them 4 years to catch up with our atomic bomb, 9 months for our hydrogen bomb, and now we are trying to catch up to their satellite as stated in document B.

After the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union became embroiled in what is now known as the Cold War, this was both an international competition between two countries, and an ideological confrontation between capitalism and communism. This led to direct and indirect competition on many fronts, such as proxy wars and police actions, the Olympics, the Nuclear Arms Race, and the Space Race. (Citation).

The Cold War was not a fight with weapons, but rather a collection of competitions between the Soviet Union and the United States in order to prove whose government is superior. The most impactful competition, that occurred during this time, was the space race. The space race consisted of many successful and failed attempts by both countries to reach space. It

Leading up to the Cold War is a perfect example of a time in history that shows mankind creating and adapting, which has been dubbed the space race. The space race was much more than producing the first man on the moon. Both the United States and the Soviet Union made amazing scientific discoveries of space during this time. The Soviet Union had many achievements in the space race that were not recognized, and it was the United States that did not acknowledge them. The Soviet Union stated out the Space Race with Sputnik and the United States ended it with the first man on the moon. The Space Race not only affected the outcome of the Cold War, but it also

During the Cold War, political and military tension ensued between the United States and the Soviet Union. The rivalry lead to proxy wars, massive propaganda, and events like the Space Race. The Space Race, lasting from 1955 to 1972, was a technological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for spaceflight discovery and capability. Both countries strived to construct spacecraft to execute a certain task, from a weather satellite to sending animals into space. Although frequently viewed as a leap in science and technology, the Space Race was a useless and selfish attempt for the United States or the Soviet Union to help prove themselves the most dominant technological superpower because of the high expenses and minimal benefits

The space race is very significant to the Cold War because it became a key part of the overall competition which created more tension between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Space Race influenced the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in Russia, which lead to the arms race. It also opened America's eyes to the importance of science and support it more as a necessity to stay on top rather than just being a hobby. When America first accomplished the biggest space achievement,  getting a man on the Moon the end of the Cold War seemed to be

On October 4th, 1957 the simple action of launching a beachball-sized hunk of metal into our orbit, reshaped the lives of people in the United States and across the world for the next years to come. This small ball of metal was Sputnik, a Soviet satellite with a radio transmitter inside letting out a small “beeping” sound. This object, as unsophisticated as it was, had the power to set the entire country into panic. To US officials this action not only made it clear that the Soviet superpower of Russia was more technologically advanced, but for all we knew they could be putting nuclear warfare into space. To the US this thought was unbearable, and because of this it would go on to set off a race of the century, the Space Race. A race to put technology into space, a race that would change American life at home and in foreign policy. From changes within the school system, to the Red Scare, life would be changed drastically in the years to come, not only in the U.S, but in Russia as well.

In his careful handling of “the Sputnik ‘crisis,’” Eisenhower was able to alleviate any pressure on the Soviet Union, but the same could not be said about the fears of Americans (421-422). When America had to play catch-up in space technology and when Eisenhower minced the details on American nuclear superiority, he barely “half-succeeded” in allaying American fears (422). Unfortunately, this was only one of many issues that Eisenhower faced before the end of his time

The Space Race was between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US). The race to space began in 1955. Apollo 11 successfully put the first man on the Moon. The end of the Space Race was in 1975. The Space Race is considered very important because it would show which nation had the best science, technology, and economic system.

After WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies engaged in a series of political, economic, military and technological competitions collectively known as the Cold War, which ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. One product of the Cold War, in particular, is of unique interest: the Space Race. Initially, the Space Race seemed to be extensions of U.S. and Soviet military programs; it then transformed into a technological and political competition between the two aforementioned countries; eventually, the Space Race transcended the concept of competition, and became an international effort of space exploration, and especially, a means for the U.S. and USSR to make amends to their broken relationships.

The Soviets began quickly on creating new technology as a way to show their military power. On October 4, 1957 they successfully launched a satellite called Sputnik Ⅰ, it was about the size of a beach ball, and became the first satellite to orbit the earth. Soon after Sputnik Ⅰ, Sputnik Ⅱ was launched in November 3, 1957, this is considered the first time life from earth went into space because in that shuttle a dog named Laika boarded. After two successful launches from the Soviets United States became a little frightened, they came to the conclusion that if the Soviet Union had the ability to launch a satellite they could also launch a nuclear missile. Since this era was during the Cold War the thought of the Soviets having greater military power frightened the United States. As a result in January 1958 the United states decided to launch their first satellite called Explorer Ⅰ. Explorer Ⅰ carried scientific equipment that then led to that discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt, but this launch was not enough. After many more satellites being sent to space and the Soviets setting many records such as the first dual man flight, the first space walk, and the first women in space, the United States decided that they needed to go above and beyond just sending a satellite to space to be able to prove that they were

Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War influenced the ‘space race’ to a significant extent…finish introduction