This investigation will explore the question: How did the US win the space race, and its impact on Modern Technology? The years 1945 to 1975 are the main area of focus in this investigation, as these years caused the build up to the space race. This investigation will compare the attitude and implementation approch between the two players –USA and USSR. Sources :
1. “Atlas of Space Exploration” written by Roger D. Launius and Andrew K. Johnston. The origin of this source is valuable, since Roger D Launis is a senior curator in the division of Space History at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. This was a valuable source since Launis has an in depth knowledge of the Space Race as he worked at the Smithsonian’s National Air
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The factors impacting the space race have been broken down in the following order:
1. German Missile Program
2. Political systems impact
3. Creation of NASA
Impact of German Missile Program and the end of the Second World War: At the end of WWII, there was race to acquire German research on the missile program. Germany had the leading research on missile technology and both the USSR and USA wanted access to it. Getting the scientists and the documentation was a key focus area for both USA and USSR. USA was lucky that they stumbled upon the German V-2 assembly facilities and the Russians reached Peenemunde only to find the scientists long gone and the facility destroyed ( Asaeng Pg 26) At the end of the war USA could secure Werhner von Braun, the inventor of the V2 rocket. The USSR took the other German scientists and brought them back to the Soviet Union. At the end of the war the USA was the dominant military power. Von Braun 's expertise has also gave it the most advanced missile technology. The question that we must ask here is that, what would have happened if the USSR had gotten hold of the German research instead of the USA. In 1949 the Soviet Union launched their very own Atomic Bomb. This was a shock to the USA because up to this point they had always assumed that only they had the bomb. The fact that both the USSR and
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.
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
The period after World War Two, known as the Cold War, was a period of brinkmanship between the world superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. This conflict was fought across the world as these two powers tried to advance their ideologies while blocking the others through military battles and by social prestige. Among the arms race between these powers, a technological battle unfolded, called the Space Race. This race sent humans into space as the two sides took huge risks to outperform the other, giving humanity some of its greatest achievements. This paper will look at the events and outcome surrounding the space race and answer three main questions. First, what led up the Space Race and the Soviet Union’s early victories? Second, how did the United States respond? Fourth, how did the Space Race affect the Cold War? Fourth, what made the United States Space Program more successful compared to the Soviet Union’s?
The Space Race took place between 1957 and 1969, and some of the world’s most famous inventions were created, innovations that have changed the world ever since. In 1957, the U.S., after the Soviet Union launched their space satellite “Sputnik 1,” decided to launch their own satellite into space, “Explorer 1” (“The Space Race”). This was the kickoff of the decade long race between the two world powers for the control of the space. The Space Race illustrated the battle between democracy and communism, and the competition dramatically changed views on these leadership methods. The Space Race not only changed views on communism, but also led to enhanced and refined technology.
The competition in the exploration of space between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union from 1957 to 1975 was known as the Cold War Space Race (Linda Alchin). From rocket technology to artificial satellites to people landing in the moon, the space race was important in showing how both countries competed to have the best technology in space and achieve to be the ‘first’. The space race began with the Soviet Union launch of Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957 and ended with the Apollo-Soyuz space project in 1957. The huge push of technological advancement and the increased curiosity and eagerness of exploring allowed and paved the way for discoveries. Realizing the importance of rocket technology through Germany’s rockets
Have you ever wondered what the Space Race was about or happened? Well the Space Race was just a simple Race or competition between the Soviet Union and the United States which appeared and seemed as a big deal to people and took place in the mid 50ś - the mid 70ś which about when World War 2 started and ended and the Race all started when the Soviet Union launched the world´s first satellite named Sputnik In which encouraged and motivated the US to ready a rocket from there it was clear that both the US and the Soviet Union declared war as competitors in a race named ¨the Space Race¨! The Nazi Germany launched a rocket called the V-2 rocket created by the German inventor or engineer Wernher von Braun into the Earth’s atmosphere becoming the ¨first man-made object to successfully reach the edge of space¨ why is this important?
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." This quote was made by John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962, and it encompasses the dedication the US had to winning the Space Race, a space technology race between the United States and Soviet Russia. The Space Race would soon become a huge competition led by many big factors and decisions. Overall, The Space Race started with the USSR's launch of Sputnik, an event which fueled nationalism in both countries, and ended with the United States landing a man on the moon.
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
The author expresses it’s not just how the technology came about, but how the events in political history effected space history. McDougall discusses the space age in five parts: Part I: The Genesis of Sputnik, Part II: Modern Arms and Free Men: America before Sputnik, Part III: Vanguard and Rearguard: Eisenhower and the Setting of American Space Policy, Part IV: Parabolic Ballad: Khrushchev and the Setting of Soviet Space Policy, and Part V: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Technocratic
The Space Race was a 20th century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States of America and the Soviet Union. This competition was held between 1955 until 1972 and enabled these two rivals to advance their ability of spaceflight and their exploration out of the Earth’s reach. The competition covered several ways in taking human life out of Earth’s orbit and to successfully bring them back home in the process. The Space Race brought about several controversial topics relating to how the USSR copied the methods conducted by the United States, how the United States retaliated against the USSR and the man landing was purposely staged or not. These factors contribute to a large extent on how the space race was won. The Space Race
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.
The Soviets wanted to give an impression to the West that they also had the same availability of technology to its citizens. They do this by putting on exhibit “an image of abundance with an apartment that few Russians enjoy, with clothes and furs that are rarely seen on Moscow streets, and with endless variations of televisions, radios, and recording equipment…that were not easily obtained” (383). Finally, in the exhibition of the Soviet scientific advancements, they have a very large display to show off their advancements in the space race with the United States. This shows the successful attempt to imitate the United States in scientific technologies. It is recorded that, “the focal point of the display is an outstanding contribution of Soviet science to the study of outer space” (382). These are the ways that the Soviets imitated the West in technology, goods
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 did not start as one would expect with the respective American and Soviet space agencies. But rather it began with the German V2 missile launches towards the end of World War 2. The V2 missile
In the past, space exploration was used as competition for geopolitical opponents. The space race began in the mid 1950’s, between the United States and the