Sputnik During The 1950's

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

After the ravages of World War II, the United States experienced a long period of economic boom, thanks to industrial weapons work and to the low price of oil. At the same time, under this nationwide economic prosperity, Americans felt increasing fear in the looming shadow of the communist Soviet Union. The US seemed to be in a spiral. Sputnik’s successful launch increased tensions that had been building since the aftermath of World War II; while President Eisenhower and his administration instituted numerous measures to calm down the hysteria that pervaded the US, these attempts had no real effect on de-escalating tensions felt between both sides.

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.

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

Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth every 98 minutes, flying over the United States seven times a day.(Danielle Burton) During the Cold war the launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union in October 1957 created a fear in the United States.The United states feared that nuclear warheads could soon come. In response the United States created and funded the National Defense Education Act(NDEA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA). The United States and the Soviet Union were at the start of an arms race and a space race. The funds for NASA were excellent, because the United states had a lot of fear after seeing what the Soviet Union was doing.

After the Cold War, The United States and the Soviet Union we’re still in competition. Instead of competing in war, they competed head-to-head in the race to the moon. Tom Wolfe wrote a nonfiction book about the stories of the test pilots and their struggle to become astronauts. During the “space race” there were major advances in technology that we continue to use and improve to this day. Wolf had many different viewpoints on the technology in the 1960’s and how it was affecting our lives then and how it would affect our lives now.

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.

The conflict with the Soviet Unions Sputnik 1 is that it terrified American citizens. Consequently the only compromise they could come up with is to have the military put out statements their worries to rest, but sadly it did not. Therefore the next thing they could do is just wait for America to calm down. There was never any true compromise but they

Sputnik I was launched on October 4th, 1957 by Russia, sending panic through Americans. Both the US and USSR were trying to be the first ones into space. So this failure had pushed the US to work harder and led to the creation of NASA.The creation of NASA had lead to the start of the space race. Space race conflicts had lasted over the next 30 years until the Americans had finally claimed the victory in the space race.

The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States was in the early stages during World War II as the Soviets were unhappy that U.S. troops did not arrive to form a second military front against the German army until 1944. This was just the first blip on the radar so to speak in the troubled relations the two countries would have with each other for the next 45 years.

The Space race was a very important factor in the 1950ś one of the most important factors was Neil Armstrong he was the first man to lay foot on the moon. Also astronaut Neil Armstrong developed a obsession with flight at an early age. And he got his pilot license at age 16. Armstrong joined the NACA in 1955, Armstrong was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency,

Thank you Stephanie for sharing your comments! I enjoyed learning more about the Cold War. The United States was also affected during the time of the Sputnik. The Sputnik affected people in many ways. Some people feared the Sputnik. For some people, it provided a sense of hope at some point. People may have wanted to learn more at this time. People may have also wanted to learn more about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is important for people to learn more about these things, when it pertains to science and culture. Did you learn anything about Sputnik that will help you in the

In the first article, the author laments the lack of appreciation for Sputnik’s launch due to “an uncomfortable political climate”, while in the second article, the author dwells upon the uncomfortable political climate to convey his or her contemptuous and nationalistic attitude towards the Sputnik launch.

The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1. Sputnik 1 blasted off from Site 1 in Tyuratam (Baikonur) at 22:28 Moscow Time. This happened on October 4, 1957. The main stage R-7 rocket when made into orbit orbited 822 times. That part re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on December 2, 1957. The satellite made 1,440 total orbits and then burned upon the re-entry into the Earth atmosphere on January 4, 1958. It was in space for 92 days and in flight there were only slight engine