Why The Failure Of The Soviet Union In 1961

The United States was beginning to realize that the Soviet Union was overtaking them in technological advancements with the launch of Sputnik I. Our president at the time, Kennedy, made the decision to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Kennedy consulted the head of the National Space Council and found out our weaknesses. He delivered a speech to Congress and said that we need to take the lead in the space race. He also announced that this mission will be the most impressive, but most expensive of that time period.

In 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and

In October 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and that started the race to the moon. The Russians were well ahead of Americans back in the 1960's in terms of the advanced technology they had. They were so close to taking off but then America decides to spontaneously land on the moon. President John F. Kennedy thought it was important that the United States win the race to the moon. On September 12, 1962, at Rice University, President Kennedy made a

Kennedy was a major influence in the US during the Space Race. He gave several speeches in order to raise awareness about the Space Race and triggered a small wave of nationalism. One of his famous quotes was, “ "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” - President John F. Kennedy, May 25, 1961” (John F. Kennedy- Space Race). Another famous quote was, “We set sail to this new sea because there is new rights to be won and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.” (Walter). Although some people doubted President Kennedy, his inspiring speeches persuaded Americans to ultimately support the Space Race. As you can see, Kennedy made many inspirational speeches to raise awareness and help bring support for the Space

Kennedy traveled the country during the early 1960s advocating for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. On September 12th, 1962, he delivered the “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort” at the Rice Stadium, in Houston, Texas, the home of NASA’s mission control. He began the speech by thanking the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the President of Rice University, Kenneth Pitzer. He commends Rice University for its knowledge, progress and strength and advocates for these virtues nationwide. JFK alludes to the Space Race by saying “the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds" (John F. Kennedy). He speaks of advances made throughout history including the wheel, printing press, steam engine, electricity, telephones, automobiles, planes and penicillin. He compares the past 50,000 years of to half a century to prove the amount of advancement that has occurred over a relatively short amount of time. He comments “this country was founded by those who move forward - and so will space.” (John F. Kennedy). JFK explains that we choose to go to the moon because it is a necessary challenge and part of our goal to lead as a nation. He highlights how close we are to achieving such goals by mentioning the testing of a Saturn C-1 booster rocket, the Saturn missile, satellites and the Mariner spacecraft. JFK points out that the space industry has created new jobs for Americans and puts the space budget in perspective by showing it is less that the annual spending on cigarettes and cigars. JFK concludes with a quote from Mt. Everest climber George Mallory who responded "Because it is there," when asked why he wanted to climb the mountain. JFK states, “Well, space is there and we're going to climb it." (John F. Kennedy) He ends by asking for God's blessing on the journey and thanking his

Then, on May 25, 1961, he stood before congress to deliver a special message on “urgent national needs.” He asked for an additional $7 billion dollar to $9 billion dollar over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing the nation’s lagging space efforts. Skeptics questioned the ability of the NASA to meet the President’s timetable. Within a year, however, Alan Shepard Gus Grissom became the first two Americans to travel into

Introduction "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.

From the start of the Space Race, the Soviet Union had the United States beat by sending the first satellite, the Sputnik, and the first man, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, into space. However, President Kennedy would not stand by as the Soviet Union began to run away with the space race. Kennedy addressed the nation by consulting Congress to “increase NASA’s budget by nine billion dollars”(Cox). This bold move made by Kennedy enabled the United States to make it to the moon first. Going to the moon first was a much higher feat than simply going into space because it required much more “precision while launching and higher equipped technology to go the extra distance”(Exploring Space). Due to the extra skill required to go to the moon, it showed how by the end of the Space Race the United States had superior technology. Since the Cold War was a fight for Global Power, going to the moon was a significant move for the United States because it showed that they had exceptional machinery. With this admirable technology, it solidified the United States’s reputation as a Global

On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy paved the way for the world’s first lunar landing when he announced the US’s ambitious goal to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. This historic announcement was fueled by desires to beat the Soviet Union, and show the United State’s dominance, the need for a uniting cause among the American people, and a desire to lead the world in the scientific field.

Additionally, President John Kennedy’s speech stated, “...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…” (Kennedy). The American dream is directly put into words as the former president discusses the achievements he hopes to attain if and when he lands the first man on the moon. After landing on the moon, the hope was that America would prove to the rest of the world, especially the Soviet Union, that the U.S. is a dominant world power and that we would be a leader in promoting world

Project Mercury progresses, with a launch date in 1961. That same year, President John F. Kennedy signs an executive order mandating Affirmative Action employment policies. Even so, the Russians remain ahead of the United States in the Space Race, and are the first to launch a cosmonaut (Yuri Gagarin) into space. While the United States accomplishes the same feat with John Glenn in 1962 (and with Katherine checking the electronic computers calculations for Glenn’s flight), President John F. Kennedy announces the ambition for Americans to land the first man on the

When Sputnik 1 had launched, many looked upon Dwight D. Eisenhower, the president at the time, to see how he’d oppose. Sputnik allowed Eisenhower to show his leadership as he created NASA and The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to work alongside each other. This along with many achievements following Sputnik showed Eisenhower’s tenacious attitude towards the Space Race, satisfying his nation (Herbert para. 6). On May 5, 1961, John F. Kennedy publicly announced the goal for America to have man landing on the moon by the end of the decade, clearly setting the finish line to the space race (“Space” para. 5). With this bold statement, it shocked many Americans including the ones in the space program as they were months to years behind the Soviet’s space program. With his goal set high, JFK feared that Americans would lose interest in the race, therefore wanting the Soviets to increase their productivity with the program sparking the interest back for Americans. Also fearing the high amounts of funding needed to launch rockets to space, in order to prevent being criticized by the American people thinking it was just a waste of money, he needed the people to believe in the program (Herbert para. 3). Consequently, President Kennedy, at Rice Stadium on September 12, 1962 gave his “We choose to go to the moon” speech.

Kennedy played a major role in creating NASA and winning the Space Race. He persuaded Congress to fund space exploration which lead to the United States winning the Space Race and eventually NASA made many life changing discoveries that contributed so much knowledge and wisdom to science. Now we have a much better grasp on the outer space and the unknown. On September 12, 1962 at the Rice Stadium, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech that ignited and generated new-found excitement in the American people. Those who were previously against the funding of space exploration were now touched by Kennedy’s speech and were determined to discover more about outer space. In his speech Kennedy quoted George Mallory, a famous mountaineer. “Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there. "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.” Kennedy’s determination and leadership excited and interested the American people. Now there were not as many people against space

He understood the need to restore America’s confidence and intended to pass the Soviets. On May 25, 1961, he stood before Congress to deliver a special message on “urgent national needs.” He asked for an additional $7 to $9 billion over the next five years for the space program. Settled upon this goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing the nations lagging space efforts. Within a year, Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard became the first two Americans to travel to space.

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I in 1957, President John F. Kennedy’s responded to congress by stating, “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” At the time, Mississippi’s senator John