The Space Race exacerbated the tense relationship between the USA and USSR to a greater extent. From 1957 to 1969 (the accepted duration of the Race), it created tension because the advancements made in Space technology translated directly into ideological superiority and military power. However, from 1970 to 1979, after the Race had ended and Cold War tensions were easing, collaborations in Space encouraged co-operation between the two countries.
The period after World War Two, known as the Cold War, was a period of brinkmanship between the world superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. This conflict was fought across the world as these two powers tried to advance their ideologies while blocking the others through military battles and by social prestige. Among the arms race between these powers, a technological battle unfolded, called the Space Race. This race sent humans into space as the two sides took huge risks to outperform the other, giving humanity some of its greatest achievements. This paper will look at the events and outcome surrounding the space race and answer three main questions. First, what led up the Space Race and the Soviet Union’s early victories? Second, how did the United States respond? Fourth, how did the Space Race affect the Cold War? Fourth, what made the United States Space Program more successful compared to the Soviet Union’s?
After the Cold War, the world’s two greatest powers; the Soviet Union and the United States; entered a rivalry known as the Space Race. Each nation wanted to prove its superiority by putting the first man on the moon. The Space Race started in 1957 and lasted until 1975 when the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States began to die down. They eventually joined forces and started the first US-Soviet space program. In the end the United States won the race when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. Nonetheless, the Space Race had a huge political impact on the United States and American culture as a whole.
The launch of the Sputnik had such a big impact on America because “America thought of themselves as the world’s technological leaders” (Richerme 35). Also “the Soviets, after all, were not supposed to be good at technology” (DeGroot 3). This scared America and brought them into a big crisis or as some call a race. This race was known as the space race and it was a very long and twisted path that it bared on its shoulders.
On October 4th, 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first ever satellite, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik sent the United States into a frenzy, beginning the Space Race, and the innovation of technology as a whole. The Space Race most importantly had a major impact on the evolution of the United States’s defense technologies through the launch of Sputnik. The Space Race sparked the United States battle for technological superiority against the USSR, and lead to improvizations in their satellite and satellite defense technologies.
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
America and the USSR have had a rivalry for a very long time. One huge portrayal of their rivalry would be the Space Race. It took place from 1955 to 1975.The Space Race was a race between America and the Soviet Union to see who would make it to space first and other accomplishments related to that. Such as putting a man in space or on the moon. Even some animals were involved. The Space Race had a large influence on the United States. It was a time where America changed and advanced in more ways than just space travel.
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and the space race was on. The Soviet’s triumph jarred the American people and sparked a vigorous response in the federal government to make sure the United States did not fall behind its communist rival.
In the period after World War II, from the late 1940’s up until the 1990’s, the United States and their allies were engaged in a “cold” war with the Soviet Union and its allies. Except for minor proxy wars between countries supported by the respective sides, no major wars were fought between the U.S. and the USSR. Nonetheless, tensions were extremely high for many years and the two superpowers constantly went back and forth trying to best the other. Likely the most well-known of these competitions was the Space Race. Battling for cosmic supremacy from the late 1950’s to 1969, the two countries traded many victories over the years and pushed each other to their technological apexes.
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
Well before Russia thought about launching Sputnik into space, there had been quite a bit of tension between America and the Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies in World War II, but they had a very tense relationship with one another. Americans were leery with the communist government that the Soviets had and their leader, Joseph Stalin. The Soviets despised the fact that America refused to acknowledge the USSR as an actual international society. With this being said, by the time World War II was ended and over with, each country’s hatred grew creating an overpowering sense of spite and belligerence. Therefore, these tensions led to the start of the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. The Cold War was an atomic age, meaning that the two countries developed and tested atomic weapons like the ones used during World War II, which forged stakes that were severely high. The Cold War led to advancements in not only atomic weapons or just weapons in general, but advancements in technology, which we see with the launch of Sputnik.
Ten years into the Cold War, the Space Race began after the Soviets successfully managed to launch Sputnik, “the world’s first artificial satellite” states NASA, into space. The significance of this launch was very important because it destroyed the morale the citizens America had and all of a sudden they felt like they were now the victims/defensive of the Cold War. In other words, this launch essentially triggered the Space Race through competitive
During the Cold War between 1947-1991, the Space Race took place between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers of the world. The Cold War was a time of political tension between both nations; the Space Race is just a small segment of the story to be explained of the forty-four year time period. The Space Race was never intentionally made between the two powers, but became a natural stand to show who is the more commanding country. The main reason of the Space Race was to see which country had the most potential in not only spaceflight, but as an overall country. The significance of the Space race was to show dominance over either country by placing a satellite into orbit, sending the first men to space, and