Sputnik And The Space Race

Now that after America and the Soviet Union where both partaking in the space race they both had suspicions about each other. Eisenhower, on the other hand, saw satellites as “pointless unless they provided something useful back on Earth” (DeGroot 5). “ A spy satellite, on the other hand, could provide accurate pictures of Soviet military capabilities, thus enabling the United States to spend its defense budget wisely, without wasting huge sums on challenging phantom forces” (DeGroot 5). America was worried about the Soviets spying on America because of security issues so America wanted to pursue on building themselves a satellite to “provide accurate pictures of Soviet military capabilities” (DeGroot 5). The only problem was that “ Flying over another nation’s territory without permission was, however, illegal under international law. What was not clear was whether the law applied to satellites” (DeGroot 5). America and the Soviets were in a battle to see which world power could be the best. The

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.

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.

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 United States beat Russia in the space race. The Russian space program got off to a good start in 1957 when they launched the first satellite into Earth’s orbit. Sputnik I was launched from a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile. The United States responded to that in 1958 when Explorer I, designed by the United States army under the direction of Wernher Von Braun, was launched.

The true reaction best explained by Roger Launius in his article Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age was “the impetus for increased spending for aerospace endeavors, technical and scientific educational programs” (3). While Sputnik initially put America into a state of panic, it ultimately brought the U.S. into a new age of achievements and even restructured the very foundation of society and what space exploration represents. Sputnik challenged the U.S. to escalate the space program. Science and technology were relevant and pushed society further forward. A leap was necessary for the human race, it was the only sputnik which sparked that leap into the next

Looking back it is easy to understand why the Russians leaped ahead in the space race; however, our leaders used all available assets, closed the gap and won the race. What is hard to believe is the successful satellite launch by the Soviet Union, has the most far-reaching effects in our recent history.

The U.S. government, military, and scientific community were caught off guard by the Soviet technological achievement. The 65° inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth. Tracking and studying Sputnik 1 from Earth provided scientists with valuable information, even though the satellite wasn't equipped with

October 4, 1957, is a day that marked a change in history forever. This was the day that the Russians “successfully launched Sputnik I”. Sputnik I was the first “earth-orbiting artificial satellite”. It was launched in the region of Kazakhstan. The chief designer was Sergei Kurchatov. “The Soviet space program achieved a major victory in its competition -- the "space race". This satellite weighed around 184 pounds. It took about 98 minutes for Sputnik I to orbit the Earth.

Interplanetary investigation helped as another melodramatic showground for Cold War race. In October 4.1957 a Russian R-7 large-scale ballistic missile hurled Sputnik (Russian for traveler). The world’s 1st non-natural satellite and first artificial item to be sited into the Earth’s path. Sputnik’s launch originated as an amazement, and not a pleasing one for to most Americans. In the U.S universe was grasped as the afterward border, a reasonable postponement of the splendid American practice of assessment and it seems as was critical not to fail too much ground to the Russians. In accumulation, this protest march of the crushing power of the R-7 missile apparently accomplished of carrying a nuclear weapon into United States. Inflight planetary

On October 7, 1957, the Space Age had officially began. The USSR sent a satellite, ‘Sputnik’, into orbit around Earth(History.com-soviet union launches sputnik). The journey lasted less than 100 minutes, but it was a landmark occasion nonetheless and the Soviet Union had sent a message to the capitalist world. On the satellite ‘Sputnik’ was a radio transmitter which allowed Soviet scientists to track it as it orbited the Earth. This signal

Sputnik 3 was supposed to be the first satellite, named object-d, it was a big laboratory with 12 experiments to measure outer space conditions.(“Sputnik: 50 years ago.”). The last Sputnik launch was on May 15th, 1958, it orbited almost 2 years, it was supposed to be a space laboratory to study the radiation belt and Earth's magnetic

The USSR launches Sputnik 1, followed by the launch of Sputnik 2 (which carried a small dog named Laika) into orbit on November 3rd. The U.S. retaliates by launching Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit. Explorer 1 carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt. The U.S. launches Explorer 2 (which fails to reach orbit) and the Vanguard 1 satellite, which functioned for three years. The USSR launches Sputnik 3, which sparked the U.S. to form The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in October, replacing the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA). Luna 1, the first man made object to orbit the Sun, is launched by the USSR, and Pioneer 4 is launched by the U.S.

Trying to keep up, the American public pressured President Eisenhower to close the gap in the Space Race. President Eisenhower was under a great deal of pressure to reassure the U.S. citizens that the U.S was capable of closing the gap in the Space Race, but “President Eisenhower tried to downscale the meaning and implication of the Soviet success, but the public reacted with fear”(Martin).  America was not used to being in second place in international competition.  Despite the fact that the United States was apparently falling

Starting on August 2, 1955 US and Soviet relations increased in intensity, when the Soviet Union informed the US about their intention to launch a satellite into orbit (Jones, 2012). This statement resulted in the "Space Race" between the US and the Soviet Union in their space technology. During the