The Influence of the Cold War and the Space Race
The Influence of the Cold War and the Space Race
On the Evolution of Today’s Technology
A few hundred key inventions have marked mankind’s progress from the Stone Age to the Space Age. What were these inventions? Who made them possible? Where would the world be today if the space race would of not been part of our historical progress? Some people believe that mankind would have been better off left alone. This paper will demonstrate that the space race during the cold war has influenced the course of success of a new era of technology in many aspects improving the material prosperity of mankind. Since the early 1900, economic growth and strength of nations have been directly related to the
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From the Abacus, the simplest form of calculating to the role of today’s computer, from the early telegraph to today’s satellite communications, from the simplest kite to today’s Jet Engine Airplanes, from the first liquid-fuelled rocket to today’s Space Shuttle, and much more to come, inventors, scientist, engineers, military forces and governments have all been responsible for those new discoveries made by mankind. “Perhaps the most misleading catch-phrase learned in childhood is that ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ creating social compulsions no one knows how to control.” (The Inventions, pg.8) In the 1980’s, people were embroiled in many problems related to the evolution of technology, from those created by the microchip to those unleashed by the H-bomb. In contrast, invention springs from a divine discontent with things the way they are and a conviction that man can do better. It is a conviction mankind should do their best to continue to promote. Perhaps, looking at the evolution of the technology used during the Space Race and the Cold War between the two most powerful forces of our history will help us put into a new …show more content…
From a very simple invention satisfying man’s conviction to do better, the abacus dramatically encouraged the growth of trade wherever it was adopted, for it was well suited to any commercial calculation. Still used in the Soviet Union and in the Far East in the 20th century, the abacus was finally replaced worldwide by the cheap electronic calculator. (The Inventions, pg.10) In 1945, the world’s first fully electronic computer was completed at the University of Pennsylvania. It was called ENIAC-Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. It occupied 1,500 sq. ft of floor space and weighted over 30 tons. Its 18,000 thermionic valves consumed 150 kW of electric power. ENIAC was capable of 5,000 additions a second. (The Inventions, pg.258) ENIAC marked a stage in man’s technological evolution. In 1948, the transistor was invented. The transistor replaced thermionic valves in such way that it manipulated electrons in the same method, but the transistor was many times smaller, needed less power and was cheaper and more reliable. Mankind ability to transform these discoveries into useful products remodeled the science and technology of electronics and other related fields. Every discovery served a purpose, the thermionic valves made possible the development of
The Space Race was characterised by a series of new developments and technological advancements made in Space by the USA and USSR from the late 1950s to the late 1960s (see appendix ii). The Race spawned from the Cold War between the USA and USSR during this time, and was among other conflicts, such as the Arms Race and Nuclear Armament, a source of tension between the two superpowers.
RQ: How and to what extent did the Space Race have a impact on United States’s defense technologies?
The space race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union that occurred during the Cold War. They competed for dominance in space technology and spaceflight, which spurred many significant inventions and events. Some of these inventions and events include the first-ever landing on the moon, the first artificial satellite to be launched into the Earth’s orbit, the establishment of NASA, the invention of the microprocessor computer, the invention of satellite communication technology, and other direct and indirect impacts. Each of the different events and inventions that spawned from the space race have had significant impacts on the United States economy.
Have you heard of the “Space Race”? It all began when the Soviet Union sent the first artificial satellite “Sputnik 1” into space. After that the United States rushed to catch up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances, and the Space Race started. The Space Race finally ended in 1969, when we sent the first man to land on the moon. The Space Race had many impacts on the Cold War.
After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle involved the two world’s greatest powers the democratic and capitalist United States against the communist Soviet Union. Beginning later in the 1950s, space would eventually become another very dramatic arena for competition between the U.S and U.S.S.R, each side looked to prove the superiority of their own technology, along with its military firepower and of course their political-economic systems. Sputnik, name of the first of several artificial satellites launched by the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1961. Successfully launched and entered Earth 's orbit. Thus, beginning the space age. The successful launch shocked the
The Space Race, occurring between 1957 and 1975, allowed both the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and The United States of America to develop technology and spread their respective communist and capitalist ideologies. The Space Race allowed the two nations to compete for superiority in a non-lethal arena. Unlike other confrontations, the Space Race also gave both parties the platform to prove their superiority to their own nations through frequent propaganda use in the form of film, television, paintings, cartoons, posters, ect. Propaganda allowed both nations to influence people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours by injecting their own political ideology.
Did the United States have a big impact in the space race against the Soviet Union? I think they did have a big impact in the space race. They launched the first man in space. The United States had much more technology than the Soviet Union. But also the Soviet Union had no idea how to beat the United States.
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
As time passed, competitive spirits and pride rose throughout both US and the Soviet Union. This morale was also later applied in the scientific and technological industry. Spacecraft launches, advances in technology and science, science-based education, and innovation were all effects from the Space Race. However, this Space Race also affected the attitude of the Cold War.
The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to see which nation could achieve spaceflight dominance before the other. The Race began on August 2, 1955 and ended nearly 40 years later in December of 1991. The Space Race began because of two major factors that would carry it until its end. The Soviet Union’s announcement that they were going to began building and using satellites to use in space days before the United States planned to announce the same thing helped fuel the fire for the competition. The Cold War also played a very influential role in the competitiveness between the countries and would inspire them to be better and work harder than their rival. The general public also played a key role in the race. Reinforcing your country’s involvement in the race gave them the all clear to spend money to build these space crafts, satellites and other technology in order to not only win, but to please the people. If a country has the support of its people they can accomplish anything. Propaganda like posters became a great way of encouraging the people to get involved and stay involved. Posters depicted great spaceships only seen in movies, engrained a hatred for the opposing country, the influence the race had on the future, and astronauts as real life superheroes like Superman. Most importantly the Space Race was a time of great inventions that carry on to
For 50 years, both the United States and the USSR competed for world dominance. One way they competed for those 50 years was the Space Race, an ideological war. The Cold War led to the Space Race because the US wanted to prevent the spread of communism, to stop the Soviet’s espionage on the military and to compete with the USSR on technological superiority.
During the Cold War between 1947-1991, the Space Race took place between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers of the world. The Cold War was a time of political tension between both nations; the Space Race is just a small segment of the story to be explained of the forty-four year time period. The Space Race was never intentionally made between the two powers, but became a natural stand to show who is the more commanding country. The main reason of the Space Race was to see which country had the most potential in not only spaceflight, but as an overall country. The significance of the Space race was to show dominance over either country by placing a satellite into orbit, sending the first men to space, and
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
Perhaps the most significant impact of the space race came through education reform. At the beginning of the 1950s most americans had atleast a high school education. But education, especially in technical fields was not seen as overly important or necessary. After all, the United States was built on farming and factory work, jobs that don’t require advanced schooling. After the second world war however the game changed. There was a sort of technical renaissance which
To begin with, the Space Race began all because of the Soviet Union and they kept pushing on to create and carry out with their objectives, meanwhile the United States was doing nothing. In an article, “United States-Soviet Cooperation during the Cold War” nasa.gov. Erika Vick, May 28, 2008. Web. , it says, “History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I.” In the late 1950’s they launched Sputnik I, which created the Space Race and it continued into the 1960’s, where the Soviet Union and the United States tried beating each other. If the Soviet Union started it, they should earn a little credit for giving the space science a tremendous advancement. For example, in an article by Global Security website, it says, “When communists were pressing for joint action in 1963, what it had meant was Soviet commitment to the policy of