What Effect Did The Cold War Have On Technological Advancement During The Space Race?

Now that after America and the Soviet Union where both partaking in the space race they both had suspicions about each other. Eisenhower, on the other hand, saw satellites as “pointless unless they provided something useful back on Earth” (DeGroot 5). “ A spy satellite, on the other hand, could provide accurate pictures of Soviet military capabilities, thus enabling the United States to spend its defense budget wisely, without wasting huge sums on challenging phantom forces” (DeGroot 5). America was worried about the Soviets spying on America because of security issues so America wanted to pursue on building themselves a satellite to “provide accurate pictures of Soviet military capabilities” (DeGroot 5). The only problem was that “ Flying over another nation’s territory without permission was, however, illegal under international law. What was not clear was whether the law applied to satellites” (DeGroot 5). America and the Soviets were in a battle to see which world power could be the best. The

Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union have always been complicated. Over the entire 20th century they have been close allies to bitter rivals. The stark differences in each of their political systems prevented the USA and the USSR from maintaining a close political friendship and understanding, and even to the very edge of war.

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.

During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union created an alliance to prevent Nazi Germany from spreading their fascist and radical ideals, but after the war, it quickly became apparent that both countries had intentions to exploit their previously stable relationship. Shortly after World War II, the Soviet Union made it their primary goal to expand their communist policies across Europe (and eventually the world). Their communist policies heavily contradicted the reason why the United States joined World War II, contrasted American ideals, and placed American democracy in jeopardy. Although relations seemed healthy shortly after the war, the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union dwindled to war due to the United States’

During 1957, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The U.S were concerned that the Soviets would attach a missile to the satellite and consequently gain the ability to fire down at the U.S with little to no notice. As fear rose in the U.S, the government seized the perfect opportunity to gain public support for NASA and the space program. The government used this as the ideal time to magnify the nation's fears of communism into the form of propaganda. As the U.S produced high quantities of propaganda, the Soviets responded with their own, highlighting their personal attitudes and ideologies.

The Space Race is a pivotal part of the Cold War’s history. During the ending of World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated a military, political, and technological supremacy battle. There was no physical fighting, instead both superpowers competed through space exploration. Between 1957-1969 the United States and the Soviet Union battled to overcome and take control over space which led to tensions alleviating in the 1970’s causing the pressure and necessity to decrease resulting in both superpowers collaborating in many tasks. Many of the technology that dealt with space exploration began with military affiliations. The

For 50 years, both the United States and the USSR competed for world dominance. One way they competed for those 50 years was the Space Race, an ideological war. The Cold War led to the Space Race because the US wanted to prevent the spread of communism, to stop the Soviet’s espionage on the military and to compete with the USSR on technological superiority.

The United States and Communist Russia endured a complicated relationship in the first half of the 20th century. In the early 1940’s the U.S. had encouraged an alliance with the Soviets against their common enemy, Nazi Germany. This short-lived accord began to deteriorate as WW II ended. By 1947 U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union had shifted from one of cooperation to a policy of containment. In 1949, when the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb, it was a widely-held belief in the U.S. that the Russians were an untrustworthy enemy with plans to invade the United States. America’s mood turned on American Communists, labeling them traitors and Russian spies. Underlying a domestic sense of well-being in the United States in the 1950’s

The Space Race was an immense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union beginning in the late 1950s. They fought over supremacy for space flight and technology, each side wanting to show the world their power and their capability to explore the unknown. They both created shuttles and rockets in hopes to prove their own worth, while also using this technology to spy on one another. Each country also needed public support and cooperation to back these projects for future advancements. Many political tensions between Democracy and its antagonistic counterpart, Communism, arose leading to new technological advancements, while the media began to publicize these advances worldwide, and beliefs like nationalism became implemented that would raise the importance of the space race to all.

Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth every 98 minutes, flying over the United States seven times a day.(Danielle Burton) During the Cold war the launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union in October 1957 created a fear in the United States.The United states feared that nuclear warheads could soon come. In response the United States created and funded the National Defense Education Act(NDEA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA). The United States and the Soviet Union were at the start of an arms race and a space race. The funds for NASA were excellent, because the United states had a lot of fear after seeing what the Soviet Union was doing.

Document Review Regardless of the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II, the cooperation found during a time of war began deteriorating due to the differences of the two nations. Soviet leaders claimed that communism and capitalism were unable to exist peacefully. Tensions grew strong as the USSR began acting out, causing the beginning of the Cold War and eventually the “Red Scare” in America, resulting in a change in foreign policy. Hints of the Cold War began in WWII as the multiple delays in creating another front in Europe made the Soviets suspicious of their Western Allies’ motives.

During the Cold War, political and military tension ensued between the United States and the Soviet Union. The rivalry lead to proxy wars, massive propaganda, and events like the Space Race. The Space Race, lasting from 1955 to 1972, was a technological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for spaceflight discovery and capability. Both countries strived to construct spacecraft to execute a certain task, from a weather satellite to sending animals into space. Although frequently viewed as a leap in science and technology, the Space Race was a useless and selfish attempt for the United States or the Soviet Union to help prove themselves the most dominant technological superpower because of the high expenses and minimal benefits

December 8, 1941 the U.S. declared war on Japan. The second world war was already engaged with over 30 countries involved, and with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. joined its Allies to fight against the Japanese. With the Holocaust, already having taken 11 million lives, and bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as bombings of Industrial and public areas, led World War II to be the war that took the most civilian lives. In total over 50 million people died in this war. Japan surrendered in 1945 and World War II was over. After World War II ended the United Nations was formed to prevent another world war from occurring. The United States, China, United Kingdom and France were the superpowers who remain permanent members of the United Nations. The Soviet Union and the United States became rivals and thus began the platform for the cold war.

Why was the United States afraid of the Soviet Union after WWII? Why was the Soviet Union afraid of the United States and Western Europe?

The Soviet Union and the United States began their relationship in paranoia at the conclusion of World War I and continued this mistrust until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. While at times technically allies, the United States and Soviet Union never truly understood each other. The Soviets, who have a long history of invasion into their country, lived in constant fear the Americans would attack via Europe. The Americans, who had not faced a major invasion since 1812, saw this fear as paranoia and believed the Soviets intended to spread communism across the world.