The V2 Rocket

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

From a United States and Soviet Union perspective that conveys that the Space Race had a minor impact on the improvisation of United States defense technologies; the Space Race was in a way responsible for the United State’s production of new technology of missiles and defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the late 1950s the United States Air Force started a series of advanced strategic missile projects under the Weapon System WS-199A called Martin's Bold Orion air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM). Similar to ICBMs the purpose of the ALBM was to destroy satellites sent into orbit that posed a intellectual and physical threat to the US. The ALBM was created due to the increasing pressure that the Soviets were to launch a satellite before the United States, and since the United States would not know of the capabilities of this

Underneath the largest rocket in the world, on May 8, starting at 11:00, were sixth graders. The entire sixth grade of South Mckeel Academy slept underneath the Saturn V rocket. Not an experience to forget. Previously, the middle schoolers had taken a brief tour of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, which houses the space shuttle Atlantis. They would actually get to visit the shops and kiosks on Friday, the day after. Onto the subject of the rocket itself.

The origins of the Space Race can be found in Germany in the 1930s. During World War II, Nazi Germany was researching and building operational ballistic missiles and experimenting with liquid-fueled rockets. As early as 1942 and 1943, the rocket Aggregate-4 became the first vehicle

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

This investigation will explore the question: How did the US win the space race, and its impact on Modern Technology? The years 1945 to 1975 are the main area of focus in this investigation, as these years caused the build up to the space race. This investigation will compare the attitude and implementation approch between the two players –USA and USSR.

The space race begun in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union. In addition, the United States aerospace innovation was considerably prompted by the government’s steady upward ratcheting of requirements for the acceleration, efficiency, and performance based on speedily evolving project requirements. “Fifteen thousand workers had arrived on the outskirts on (the city of) Sacramento” (pg.55) in California due to the rising aerospace industry. David Beers

In the late 1980’s, there was an increase in space organizations like Air Force Space Command which sparked a major interest in space weaponry. Following what Reagan wanted done with space, these organizations began a push for a present in space with the same force as their capabilities in the 1950’s and 1960’s. As Reagan had expressed blatantly in early 1983, he wanted a space presence, and that it will be a part of the United States’ arsenal. His leaving of office sparked a large push for space technology. This push for space technology is directly influenced by a leader, just as Truman proposed his ideas about space weapons and the potentialities of it. Reagan’s interest for a presence in space as a means of power over other countries, created

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.

Barely even half a decade after World War II, the world would again enter a war of a different nature where tensions between United States and Soviet Union would continue to rise as both sides threatened to use weaponry that if used would evidently lead to mutual and total destruction. Known as the Cold War, these two nations with their respective alliances, NATO and Warsaw Pact, would be in constant political conflict caused by their clashing ideologies and beliefs. In what would later be known as the Space Race, to stay ahead of the other in technological advancements these two nations would compete against each other in the exploration of the world beyond earth,serving as a showcase of more advanced rocket technology that could be applied

V-4 was stopped in traffic in the inside lane of Business 67 about Cherry Street.

After WWII, the US and Soviet Union started to develop a new kind of missile program, not for aiming them at other countries, but aiming them at space, this period of time was known as the Space Race ( A Brief History of Space Exploration).America was launched into space because JFK knew the that America needed to restore its confidence and that America would not only meet with the soviets, but surpass them, and from that he made the goal of landing a man on the moon within the decade (Space Program). There were three main scientists from three different countries who started to design rocket engines for space travel. Those scientists were: Konstantin Tsiolkovsk from Russia, Robert Goddard from the US, and Hermann Oberth from Germany ( A

Technology had been an important element of success in World War II. The advancement of nuclear weapons, and development of atomic bombs gave the US and its allies a major advantage. By the 1950s, the Soviet Union had caught up and developed nuclear weapons. But space technology still had a fair way to go. The Soviet Union lacked fast-paced space technology, the Americans had some fast-paced, but not very advanced technology (. ) Although the Soviet Union had a head start, which didn’t help them in the end, nevertheless they impacted how the United States conducted their space exploration because they proved to be a challenging opposition, and pushed the American scientists to work to their ends.

On September 6th of 1944, mankind’s aspiration to reach the stars slammed into the Earth in the form of the V2 rocket striking Paris (Britannica; Hollingham). The V2 rocket was a new sort of weapon: it combined the elegance of rocket science into the brutality of war, with it enabling Nazi Germany to claim thousands of lives. The man responsible for designing such a perversion of human ambition, Werner Von Braun, would later become indispensable to the United States’ mission to put a man on the moon. The moon project not only showed the vast capability of the US science program, but also revolutionized many fields of technology and thus bringing a new sense of pride to all mankind in human achievement. From Von Braun’s actions, a paradox arises:

The earliest sightings of the Space Race was during the 1930s in the last stages of the Weimar Republic. The Germans produced a ballistic missile (V2) that could travel at 4000 km/h and a 320 km range. The Germans used this to destroy several cities under the Allie’s territory. After the war ended the Allies tried to capture German Rocket Scientists to improve their technology. This resulted in all of them having the V2 ballistic missile which was the foundation for the first Russian and American Rockets. The race for prestige in spaceflight it was now a threat and advancement for national security which resulted in the science and technology departments coming under the influence of the federal government. The world was divided into two parts,