The Continued Space Race

We have always dreamed about reaching the heavens. From ancient civilizations to the modern day world, our obsession of going into space has grown from studying the stars to actual exploration of space. We have come a long way since primitive charts of constellations. From telescopes to satellites, we as a population have progressed greatly in the world of technology. In a mere forty years, we have had more technological advances than the Industrial Revolution. The Space Race has affected our everyday lives; we use the same technology that the astronauts used during their missions for example digital clocks (Dismukes http://spaceflight.nasa.gov). Many industries have benefited, communication companies, industrial manufacturers, and the

From this technological race came the “Space Race” that led to mankind’s first steps towards exploring the universe beyond Earth. The first move of the Space Race occurred when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite to successfully travel in space, on October 4, 1957. The satellite orbited the Earth for more than ninety days, and its sole capability was to emit a beeping noise only audible on certain radio frequencies (“National Debate Topic…”). The first U.S. satellite, named Explorer 1, was sent into orbit just three months later on January 31, 1958. From these technological advances developed new, more challenging goals such as sending a man into space, which called for the national funding of a program that could push the United States into the forefront of the fight. Thus, NASA was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which President Eisenhower signed on July 29, 1958 (“Creation of NASA” 261). This moment did not officially begin the NASA however; the program truly began in 1915 with the creation of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The stated goal of the Committee was to “…supervise and direct the

NASA was the answer to the soviet union's space program. They wanted to one up them by showing how amazing america can be. Funded by the government by Dwight D EIsenhower he saw the potential in it and so did many more presidents after. John F. Kennedy was one of the key people in the program funding by showing that NASA was going to be the first to put a man on the moon. Then, The Apollo project did the impossible beating the soviet union by being the first men to step on the moon. This showed that mankind is capable of so much and we can achieve anything.

The Space Race was a time of great exploration, and created many new techniques in the studies of science and technology. Many new techniques of engineering and technological advances resulted as positives of the Space Race. The cause of this great exploration and learning was fueled by rivalry and competitiveness of two governments, the Soviet Union and The United States. The Soviet Union and the United States were in a race to see which could reach space supremacy first. This rivalry unfolded in front of millions of spectators, and instilled a sense of competiveness into the viewers. During the mid nineteen-sixties, the achievements of the United States space program caused them to leap ahead of the Soviet Union space program, which was very unexpected. The achievements by the United States during the Space Race in the nineteen-sixties created a gap in space exploration between the Soviet Union space program and the United States space program because the United States was able extremely motivated by government forces and was able to achieve great technological advances in their space crafts.

The 20th century was a complex and eventful time period for the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as the USSR or Soviet Union) survived and advanced through a century that consisted of revolutions, changes in leadership figures and policies, and events such as World War II and the Cold War. As this union experienced a period of so much change, there is no doubt that these events had a variety of large impacts on the history and culture of the Soviet Union. However, a certain series of events and explorations that also reached a peak during this era often took a more subtle route of impact on Soviet society and culture. Space exploration in the Soviet Union and across the world took a huge leap forward toward the end of the 20th century. Namely, the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States of America lasted from the 1950’s to the 1970’s and engaged the country in an intense competition to the moon. While the Space Race did focus on achieving greatness in space, a deeper analysis showed that it revolved around the desire to obtain supremacy in not only the spaceflight sector of the world, but also as a powerhouse nation in general. The United States and the USSR pushed each other to complete the first to launch into space, send humans to space, and finally to reach the moon. Ultimately, one of the largest ways that the Space Race incluenced the culture and people of the Soviet Union happened through the creation of

“ This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, these are the words of Neil Armstrong (along with Edwin Aldrin) when becoming the first humans to ever step foot on the moon. The race to space started not long after World War II ended--which started a new era known as the Cold War. Two of the greatest powers on earth the United States and the Soviet Union began a new competition to prove to the world who was more superior. Afraid that one country had more military power than the other, space which had not yet been explored became the new battle ground. The space race was a turning point in history, it was a time where new technology was created, one of the biggest accomplishments in history was made, and was an era that helped

President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a plan to orbit a scientific satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) for the period July 1, 1957 to December 31,1958. Quickly, the Soviet Union jumped in, announcing plans to orbit its own satellite. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency changed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) which was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to promote aeronautical research. On October 1st the agency was dissolved, and the staff formed the core of the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Nasa is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the Space Launch System and Commercial Crew vehicles. Nasa has also taught us a lot of incredible things about space exploration. NASA has invented all sorts of technology to solve the peculiar problems of space

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA is an organization accountable for phenomenal space exploration. The breakthrough for this agency was on their Apollo 11 mission with the first moon landing in July 1969 with Neil Armstrong being the first man on the moon. His prominent phrase “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” sparked a flame for space exploration in the hearts of millions. This feat was unheard of at this time period since the Apollo 11 team returned with a massive 842 pounds of lunar samples. With this space landing America concluded the Space race, triumphing the Soviet Union in a dignified manner. From this stage forward NASA blossomed into a distinguished space program and achieving popularity

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, best known as NASA, was first authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 1, 1958. Its first line of operations was to beat the Soviet Union in exploring the solar system.

N.A.S.A stands for the “National Aeronautics and Space Administration”. The space program was founded in 1958 and has accomplished many great feats and has an enriching history. The program was started “to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere and for other purposes”. Since then, NASA has created a successful human spaceflight program. The history of NASA has many main points such as its space program, the involvement and development of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the world-changing research from missions and collected that helps us understand our world and beyond. Amiko K. (July 6th, 2010). NASA history. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/nasa_history.htm . First and foremost, for many NASA has had a very successful space program, which has impacted the way, we see the world and our views towards space.

Space exploration began in the 20th Century when Nazi Germany built long range missiles that could travel across the English Channel1 which led to Soviet Russia and the USA beginning their own space programmes to prevent attacks by Germany and the Space Race began, a period of incredible technological advancement as the Russians and Americans competed to “one-up” each other and governments provided space programmes with seemingly bottomless funding. On October 4th 1957, the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite1 which became the first object to orbit space and this was quickly followed by, on April 12th 1961, Lt. Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man in space1. The Americans retaliated, launching their own rockets and men into space, close

Years ago, the thought of leaving the earth's atmosphere and traveling into space was mind blowing to millions of people. NASA wanted to change that. NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was created on July 29, 1958. (“Space flight Research and Pioneering developments” NASA, 2012) It was created to compete with the Soviet Union’s first launch of the Sputnik 1. The United States thought themselves to be on the top of the pyramid with technology. Therefore, the government was extremely embarrassed to not be the first country to launch something into space. Consequently NASA immediately started to design a piece of technology that would survive the conditions of space. Ultimately, this was the beginning of the U.S.- Soviet

Did you know that the Soviet Union was the first to launch something outside of Earth’s orbit? In the 1960’s, the Soviet Union speed up the advancement of space science, faster than the United States ever could, during the Space Race. First of all, they were the first to start the Space Race and continually kept going onward to try new concepts and/or more concepts. On the other hand, the Soviet Union were more focused on witnessing who’s better. Finally, the Soviet Union were the ones who sent multiple of inventions into space, but still had a bunch of trial and error and learned what worked and what didn’t work.

Numerous players have begun to materialize in the field of private space travel. This emerging market could be the key to success as NASA now set its sights, beyond the moon, towards neighboring planets. Government outsourcing to the private sector isn’t a novel idea; however, in this case innovations in engineering and manufacturing have introduced new opportunities for governments and companies alike. SpaceX is one private company vying for an opportunity to assume the task of delivering astronauts and supplies to the ISS. SpaceX is currently at the forefront of lowering the cost of space travel by developing reusable rocket technology. Mike Chafkin, senior writer at INC magazine, reports “SpaceX charges $50 million to launch a satellite, less than half the going rate.” (83). Such a substantial reduction in overall cost would enable organizations like NASA to reorganize spending towards the research and development of new studies and technologies. Private enterprise may not lead the way to discovering new celestial bodies but independent companies excel at improving efficiency and value. Companies competing for government contracts have developed cost effective techniques and materials to edge out the opposition. James Clay Moltz, professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, points out that private companies require fewer workplace

In the early 60s, President John F. Kennedy led America into a space race against the Soviet Union. American men and women across the nation backed this goal, allowing NASA to take great leaps in advancing its space exploration programs. This unified nation fulfilled its goal, and Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. However, since then, America’s space exploration has only declined. Funding for NASA has been drastically cut, thus greatly limiting the opportunities for exploring the cosmos. Understanding and exploring the universe is detrimental to the advancement of the United States and opens the door for vast possibilities. If the government chooses to limits its own advancement, then that responsibility must fall