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Essay On The Space Race

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The Space Race
Imagine you’re running in a race, all you have to do to win is run fast and go past the finish line first. Now, imagine you’re in another race, but to win you must walk on the moon! The United States and the Soviets had that kind of race during the Cold War, called the Space Race. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a Cold War is “a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular.” This Cold War was “a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc.” (History.com staff, 2010) and lasted from 1945-1990. In this essay, I will be writing about one event of the …show more content…

President Kennedy's goal had been achieved.” (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History, 2009) On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong was a changed man.

Neil Armstrong was a very significant person. He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5th, 1930. In 1949-1952 he was a naval aviator, then in 1955 he joined NASA. For 17 years he was a test pilot, engineer, astronaut, and administrator for NACA and NASA. “NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA was started in 1958 as a part of the United States government. NASA is in charge of U.S. science and technology that has to do with airplanes or space.” (NASA.gov staff, 2009) Armstrong began his NASA career in Ohio. At age 32, he officially transferred to astronaut status. As spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, Neil gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface. (NASA.gov staff, 2012) After that, he received a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and a master of science in Aerospace Engineering from the university of Southern California. Sadly, Neil Armstrong died from cardiovascular procedures complications on August 5th, but died a legend.

The space race was a major part of the Cold War. There were many important events and people involved such as the first person in space, the first person on the moon, and Neil Armstrong. According to the

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