Sputnik: From The Space Race To The Moon

(Anonymous, 2017). The USSR leader, Nikita Khruschev, stated that the “economy, science, culture and the creative genius of people in all areas of life develop better and faster under communism” after the Soviets’ initial achievements in the Race (see Appendix ii). (Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum, 2013). Sergey Korolyov, head of the USSR Space efforts, stated the USSR’s mission would be “to ensure that the Soviet rockets fly higher and farther than has been accomplished anywhere else up until now …, to ensure that a Soviet man be the first to fly in a rocket … and … to ensure that it is Soviet rockets and Soviet spaceships that are the first to master the limitless space of the cosmos.” (Garcia & Lusigan,

In 1955 both the Soviet Union and the United States were building ballistic missiles that could be used to launch objects into space. This became the starting line for the race into space. Four days apart in unrelated announcements, both the Soviets and the Americans announced their plans to launch artificial Earth satellite by 1957 or 1958. On 29 July 1955, James C. Hagerty, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s press secretary,

The Space Race is a race between the U.S.A and the Soviet Union. The Space Race started in 1955 and continued until 1975. The Soviets were majorly ahead for the entire Space Race until we landed the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong. The U.S.A was incredibly embarrassed about how far behind they were. Despite the gap, they kept going.

Sputnik was also called the “a technological Pearl Harbor” and it was, “a big blow against American prestige” (Wall). A short month later, Sputnik 2 was launched. American then made its move with Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958. For example, “ Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt” (The Space Race Timeline). The Soviet Union responded with Luna 1. Luna 1 “was the first man made object to orbit the sun” (The Space Race Timeline). The US and the USSR have both made several accomplishments. Eventually, the United States ended the battle with one fatal blow. Putting a man on the moon and returning him safely back to Earth. The moon landing took place on July 20, 1969. The first man to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong. Second was Edwin Aldrin. The moon landing ultimately ended the Space Race with American at the top. For example, “Most people agree that the space race ended on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon for the first time” (Conger). All together, the United States of America ended up winning the Space Race. As you can see, both The US and the USSR had many

​Like I stated before the famous space race began in 1957 between the Soviet Union and the United States. They were both racing to see who could explore more of our Solar System. Space exploration was a large part of

Have you heard of the “Space Race”? It all began when the Soviet Union sent the first artificial satellite “Sputnik 1” into space. After that the United States rushed to catch up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances, and the Space Race started. The Space Race finally ended in 1969, when we sent the first man to land on the moon. The Space Race had many impacts on the Cold War.

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.

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.

Although there is disagreement on the precise date that the Space Race began, the moment that it became an important competition that was in the forefront of the minds of everyday Americans is on April 12, 1961 when Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth in Vostok 1. (citation). This event created a feeling amongst the American public that the Russians were further ahead in science and technology than the United States, as well as the fear that the Soviets could use their superior technology to be better able to attack the USA from a distance. Shortly after Gagarin’s flight, the United States launched astronaut Alan Sheppard into

The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to see which nation could achieve spaceflight dominance before the other. The Race began on August 2, 1955 and ended nearly 40 years later in December of 1991. The Space Race began because of two major factors that would carry it until its end. The Soviet Union’s announcement that they were going to began building and using satellites to use in space days before the United States planned to announce the same thing helped fuel the fire for the competition. The Cold War also played a very influential role in the competitiveness between the countries and would inspire them to be better and work harder than their rival. The general public also played a key role in the race. Reinforcing your country’s involvement in the race gave them the all clear to spend money to build these space crafts, satellites and other technology in order to not only win, but to please the people. If a country has the support of its people they can accomplish anything. Propaganda like posters became a great way of encouraging the people to get involved and stay involved. Posters depicted great spaceships only seen in movies, engrained a hatred for the opposing country, the influence the race had on the future, and astronauts as real life superheroes like Superman. Most importantly the Space Race was a time of great inventions that carry on to

The space race was a race to see who could do more and get more done in space. It was done against the U.S and the USSR. The USSR was the first to make something orbit the Earth that was the spacecraft Sputnik I. In 1957 USSR launch the Sputnik I it took 98 minutes to make its orbit. It spend 21 days in space before it burned up in the atmosphere. The USSR later launched Sputnik II. It carried the first living thing in space a dog named Laika.The US was going crazy on how Russia has passed them in technology. Almost two years later the US made the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The USSR kept on making successful launches in may 1958 they launch Sputnik III which carried 2 thousand pounds to space. In April 1961 the USSR launched the Vostok I it had the first man to orbit the Earth his name was Yuri Gagarin. A month later the US had the first American to go to space his name was Alan Shepard.

The Space Race was one of the biggest rivalries between America and the Soviet Union in the 1950’s to the 1970’s. The Space Race was part of something bigger, the Cold War. The Cold War was a time of political and military tension after World War 2, between different powers all over the world, but mainly between the U.S and the Soviet Russia. When people think of the Cold War, one of the many things that come to mind is the Space Race. In this essay I will write mainly about the Space Race and how both countries spent time and money building rockets and other devices. I will also talk about the steps it took to make it to the Moon. And lastly, the effects it had on American politics.

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.

A ballistic missile roared off the launch pad on October 4, 1957 carrying a 184-pound metal sphere settled on the pentacle of the R-7. This sphere, Sputnik, would be the first artificial satellite sailing in space. Sputnik would inaugurate the space race and intensify the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Mikhail Tikhonravov a soviet scientist

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