The Space Conspiracy : The Causes Of The Space Race

Brian Keeley’s short essay, “Of Conspiracy Theories” discusses conspiracy theories and their value in an epistemological context. Keeley defines a conspiracy theory as “a proposed explanation of some historical event (or events) in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of persons-the conspirators-acting in secret (Keeley 1999, pg. 116).” Keeley seeks to answer the question of why conspiracy theories are unwarranted. His interest in the warrant of conspiracy theories focuses on ¬the unfalsifiability of conspiracy theories and how conspiracy theories are founded upon an extraordinarily large amount of skepticism. In section III, Keely discusses what a conspiracy theory is, and contends that there is no grounds for

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." This quote was made by John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962, and it encompasses the dedication the US had to winning the Space Race, a space technology race between the United States and Soviet Russia. The Space Race would soon become a huge competition led by many big factors and decisions. Overall, The Space Race started with the USSR's launch of Sputnik, an event which fueled nationalism in both countries, and ended with the United States landing a man on the moon.

The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space. From 1955 until 1975, both sides battled it out to be the leader in the competition. Fueled by the Cold War and other causes of the beginning of the race, the Soviet Union and the United States fought for authority in a very public manner through the media. There were many achievements at this time and it led the way for many great things to come afterwards.

The Space Race greatly affected American Politics and left a stellar legacy on Earth along with the discovery of many useful products used in space technology modified for modern day use. Evan Herbert exclaims how The Space Race affected American Politics by stating; “The presidencies of Eisenhower and Kennedy were put under great strain during this intense rivalry between these two world super powers. Eisenhower assertiveness was questioned after the Soviet launching of their Sputnik satellite. President Kennedy had to keep morale and support for the Space Race afloat when the American public question the purpose, necessity and budget for the en- devour”(Herbert 7). Herbert also adds a quote from one of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches after he states, “On September 12th, 1962 at Rice Stadium, President John F. Kennedy gave one of his most famous speeches ever given”. Herbert then states what John F. Kennedy articulates towards the end of his speech, ‘“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there”’(Herbert 2). Bill Dietrich remarks about the legacy that The Space Race has given us in present times as he questions, “What has the Space Race accomplished?”, he then continues on his question, “Will future historians someday link the demise of the Soviet Union to its launch of Sputnik?”(Dietrich 1). Dietrich answers these two questions later in his article by

The space race, a competition to show superiority of technology and military firepower. The United States should have entered the space race.

During the Cold War, the United States and Russia had a severe space race between one another. Every time one country would be a step ahead of the other, and somehow one of the countries would catch up to the more advanced country at the time. During the early years of the space race, success was measured by what nation did what first: To the alarm of the United States, each of the early adventures were achieved by the Soviet Union. And all of those events triggered the United States to drive and catch up with to surpass the Soviet Union. This sort of see-saw method happen throughout the space race. Throughout this paper, there will be a discussion on the space race between the United Stated and

The space race was the event the began the interest in space exploration. It all started in 1957 during the Cold War, when there was tension between America and the Soviet Union. There was also new technology from the war. According to Murray (Date unknown) “Many people believed the nation that controlled the skies could win any war.”(para. 5). So when the Soviet Union decided to launch the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit America was not happy.

Who said that space travel was only for the US and Russia? To that, I say HA. There were probably over 24 countries in the Great Space Race, but we made it to the moon first. The one space agency that was most interesting to me was JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). "The challenge -- including transporting the components to space -- may appear gigantic, but Japan has been pursuing the project since 1998, with some 130 researchers studying it under JAXA's oversight".

The space race was a race to see who could make it to space first. It began in nineteen fifty-seven and it was a Cold War competition between America and the Soviet Union that developed aerospace capabilities. The race into space changed the course of history and captivated the world in various ways.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."- Neil Armstrong. On October 4, 1957, 7:28 PM life changed in the United States and Russia because of the launch of sputnik the first man-made object to orbit the earth. The space race wasn't just a race to space, but a Continuum of the Cold War and a competition to see who the better country was really was. The US always felt that their technology exceeded everyone else’s, but on the day of October 4, they were proven wrong; the Soviets were on top. The launch of Sputnik was a huge success, but Dwight Eisenhower would try to downplay it to avoid accepting defeat. The United States would put 400,000 people to work on the project. This is the first time the US had embarked on such on

The Struggle for dominance continued after World War II, as two great super powers clashed, the Soviet Union, and America. America fought for Capitalism, and the Soviet Union for Communism, so it was a struggle for global supremacy. Technology and war move together hand in hand. The creation of the nuclear war head led to the creation of a rocket that could deliver them. It was not just a race; it was not about pride. National security and world peace were all at stake. The rocket was not just a weapon of war; it was a tool of adventure.

Humans and other species navigate by determining their current position and planning a course to a desired goal. Navigation normally occurs in the 1-g environments experienced on Earth, but a new environment was added as the Soviet Union and the United States competed for supremacy during the space race of the mid 20th century. Outer space posed many new problems, including the challenge of navigating in microgravity. The first human in space was Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961, but the first reports of gravity-related problems surfaced with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo program during the 1960s and 70s (Homick, Lyndon, & Miller, 1975). With current plans for expanded space exploration, it

Now you know the story behind the space race, so go tell your parents cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and maybe even friends. Remember, I told you about J.F. K’s speech, the space race, and who went to the moon

The Space Race was a war of firsts between the United States of America and the Union Soviet Socialist Republics. But it was also the culmination of the dreams of man for many millennia and the team who worked on the space programs were able to discover what so many of the people that came before and after them could only dream of. It was an endeavor that all of humanity was invested in at the time. It was a testament to the power of the human spirit and it showed how nothing was impossible if we persevered and strived to be better.

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.” Neil Armstrong said this about his famous trip in which he was the first man to have stepped on the moon, being one of the few who have had this opportunity. Earth has been home to humankind since its birth. Now humanity has managed to tame Earth and the next step is to traverse into the reaches of the solar system, although Earth will always be the home to humanity but there are other possible homes for us in this galaxy through colonization. Colonizing space is the next step for humanity that will bring the race causing significant