Remembering the Space Race

It occurred between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States, and the two cold war rivals. Technological superiority was essential for the symbolic of ideology and national security. The space race generated innovative artificial satellites, human spaceflights, and unmanned probes of the Mars, Venus and the Moon. Everyone wanted to lead in terms of technological advancement and ability to innovate new

The Race to Space was a competition the United States and Soviet Union engaged in to see who had the most advanced space technology. The competition included some events like who launched the first manned spacecraft into space and who would be the first to walk on the moon, these events took place during the Cold War. The cold war was a decades long period of time with increased tensions for global power and influence. The Race to Space gave many impressions on the political, economic, and social aspects of the Cold War.

The American and Soviet Union space programs were in a race to space during the cold war. This space race reflected many political, social, and economic aspects of the cold war. The fact that both countries were in the middle of a cold war didn’t help.

On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, a small satellite, successfully into orbit, and the Space Race truly

Kennedy was a major influence in the US during the Space Race. He gave several speeches in order to raise awareness about the Space Race and triggered a small wave of nationalism. One of his famous quotes was, “ "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” - President John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961” (John F. Kennedy- Space Race). Another famous quote was, “We set sail to this new sea because there is new rights to be won and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.” (Walter). Although some people doubted President Kennedy, his inspiring speeches persuaded Americans to ultimately support the Space Race. As you can see, Kennedy made many inspirational speeches to raise awareness and help bring support for the Space

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?

Before the causes and results of Kennedy’s decision to land on the moon can be adequately analyzed and discussed, it is necessary to understand the context of his time as President and the events that preceded it. Therefore, I will provide a small amount of context about the Cold War and the situation leading up to Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech on September 12, 1962. (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

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I in 1957, President John F. Kennedy’s responded to congress by stating, “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” At the time, Mississippi’s senator John

As stated before, both sides accomplished a lot. The US say they won because of the first human on moon, but USSR accomplished way too much for the US to easily win. Both sides look at what they accomplished first. When both sides find out what they achieved, both do not deserve to be the loser of the space race. “The problem with assigning a winner however, is that both sides would define the terms of the Space Race by what they were capable of achieving - and then declare themselves winners” (Hodgson). This quote shows that they have to look in to what they have achieved first. Since both achieved so much, there can not be one single winner. It would not be fair to both sides.

The Soviets wanted to study the earth’s atmosphere, the behavior of animals in space, and the testing of rocket technology. Russia launched Sputnik 1, which carried a dog, into space. This helped to understand how humans might react in space and through the reentry process. The United States was urged to invest more of their money and resources into its space program, generating a race between the two countries to land a person on the moon. The whole race started on October 4, 1957, when the first Sputnik was launched. This satellite weighed about 184 pounds and the official name of it was "Iskustvennyi Sputnik Zemli" (1). Which meant "fellow world traveler of the earth". To counteract the United States’ launch of the Explorer 1, a satellite that included a rocket motor, the Russian’s responded with Sputnik 3 on May 15, 1958. The first three Sputnik satellites all carried instruments to measure the temperature and density of the earth’s upper atmosphere. Solar energy was used for the first time by Sputnik 3 to power its instruments and transmitters.

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish” -John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961

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.

The Space Race was a war of firsts between the United States of America and the Union Soviet Socialist Republics. But it was also the culmination of the dreams of man for many millennia and the team who worked on the space programs were able to discover what so many of the people that came before and after them could only dream of. It was an endeavor that all of humanity was invested in at the time. It was a testament to the power of the human spirit and it showed how nothing was impossible if we persevered and strived to be better.