Sputnik And The Cold War Essay

The space race started when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957. Sputnik was the very first artificial satellite and the first man-made object in space. This scared and upset many Americans. They worried that if the Soviets could launch a satellite into space, then they could also launch nuclear missiles. One month later, the USSR launched Sputnik II, which was larger than Sputnik I and it carried Laika, the first living being in space. The US saw space as the next frontier to explore and they did not want to lose too much ground to the Soviets, so in response America launched their own satellite, Explorer I, in January 1958, marking their entrance into the race. And in that same year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a federal agency dedicated solely to space travel, was created.

The world has experienced very many huge moments, such big moments in which sometimes you don’t think it’s really happening. October 4, 1957, was one of those days. Because that was the day the world changed forever and there was no turning back. It was the day of the Sputnik launch. Sputnik was a Soviet satellite that orbited in the earth’s rotation 500 miles above the earth and traveling at about 18,000 mph. It took approximately 98 minutes for it to rotate the earth which meant it passed the United States seven times a day. It looked like it was from a whole another world or out of a movie or a fantasy story. It consisted of a ball with four stem like structures coming out and pointing down at the ground. The ball like structure

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

Russia launched Sputnik, a satellite to orbit the earth, into outer space on October 4th, 1957. With tensions already running high in the Cold War, Americans panicked at the thought of the Russians building space and nuclear energy, fearing it could be used on them. The conflict now called the Space Race resulted in Americans creating NASA and pushing the sciences in school.

In addition, the Soviets greatest accomplishments were in the participation in the Space Race. The Soviets successfully launched Sputnik the world's first artificial satellite, October 4, 1957 (Doc F). These achievements showed the world how technologically advanced the Soviets where. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth (Doc F). Valentina Tereshkova became the first women in space (Doc F), and Laika was the first dog in space (Doc F). The Soviet accomplishments will be engraved into Soviet textbooks, but memorialized in human history as

The first unmanned satellite called “Sputnik 1” launched and sent to the space by Soviet Union in 1957.

During the Cold War, the rivals--the United States and the Soviet Union--were in what seemed like a competition to determine who had the most advanced technology. This was because that country will be seen as the strongest and the biggest threat to the other. The space race really began officially on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, which was the first artificial satellite ever to be launched in space. This was seen as a danger to the United States, because it meant that the Soviet Union was possible capable of doing other things, possibly against the US. Then the Soviets launched Sputnik II, but this time it had a passenger, a dog named Laika. Though this mission was a failure because poor Laika died within hours

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.

The objectives of Sputnik were to “provide information on the density of the atmosphere by calculating its lifetime in orbit, test radio and optical methods of orbital tracking, determine the effects of radio wave propagation through the atmosphere, and check principles of pressurization used on the satellites” (NASA Content Administrator). Putting the first human-made object in space, the Soviets contribution shocked the world especially Americans. Fearful of Soviet military control of space, Americans launched their first satellite called the Explorer I, which measured the radiation environment in Earth orbit, after four months from Sputnik’s I launch (Loff, Sarah). The Soviets won or led the race again by putting the first man in space. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person to orbit earth on April 1961, traveling in a spacecraft called Vostok I(The Cold War Museum).

In October of 1957 the first artificial Earth satellite was launched by the Soviet Union into an elliptical low Earth orbit; Sputnik. Being visible all around the Earth and having its radio pulses detectable, this was a surprise success that caused the American Sputnik crisis (a period of public fear and anxiety having awareness of the technological gap between the United States and Soviet Union). This surprise success triggered the Space Race, a 20th-century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in spaceflight capability, while ushering in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.

As a result of the successful launch of the world’s first artificial satellite (the Sputnik 1) that led directly to the launch of the first living creature into space (with the Sputnik 2), the U.S.S.R. was the winner of the space race. Prior

Starting after World War ll, both America and the Soviet Union had an unfortunate assumption that the other was trying to take over the world and spread their governmental policies, Democracy and Communism. This lead to hate and fear, and the overall goal of destroying those ideals. Both sides thought that their political systems were superior and tried to expand their reach on the world, steering themselves down a road paved with bitter rivalries and childish contests. One such contest, and probably the most famous, being the Space Race. Both sides were reaching out towards the unknown, but Americans believed they were far more ahead than the Russians so when the Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite, “Sputnik-1” On October 4, 1957, they were awed, scared, and offended.The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik created a new era in American society and influenced many pivotal aspects of daily life, including the government, education, culture, and thought process.

In the beginning of the Space Race, Russia put itself in the lead by launching Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, launched respectively in October and November of the year 1957. These were the first satellites in space which was a huge achievement accomplished by the Russians. The launch of these satellites was very significant as they started the Space Race, and pushed Kennedy to declaring that America would put a man on the moon (“Sputnik Space Age” Launius). Also, holding the title of having the first satellite in space is something that Russia is very proud of. Just a year later, Sputnik 3 is launched (May 1958) and the constant launch of satellite’s puts America on it’s heels, pushing America to work harder (“Sputnik Space Age” Launius).

The Soviet Union introduces the Space Age with its dispatch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. The shuttle was named Sputnik after the Russian word for "satellite.” Sputnik had a distance across of 22 inches, weighed 184 pounds and circled Earth every hour and a half. Going at 18,000 miles 60 minutes, its curved circle had an apogee (most distant point from Earth) of 584 miles and a perigee (closest point) of 143 miles. Unnoticeable with binoculars before dawn or after dusk, Sputnik transmitted radio signals back to Earth sufficiently solid to be grabbed by novice radio administrators. Those in the United States with access to such gear tuned in and listened in awe as the beeping Soviet rocket passed America a few times each

This October marks the 60th anniversary of Russia launching the first unmanned satellite into space. Sputnik, which means “fellow traveler” in Russian, weighed 184 pounds, measured 22.8 inches in diameter, and had two radio transmitters on board. Even though Sputnik was only a hunk of metal, the symbolism of this accomplishment had dramatic impacts on the development of American culture during this time period. The launch of Sputnik had an important impact on America and it’s foreign, domestic and economic policies that evolved as a result of this launch.