THE SPACE RACE
The Space Race began in 1957, with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, and lasted until 1975, when American and Soviet astronauts shook hands as part of Apollo-Soyuz mission. The Space Race occurred largely as a part of the American-Soviet Cold War rivalry, culminating with the successful Apollo 11 lunar landings, and led to many technological advances along the way.
Sputnik 1
On October 4th 1957, The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, an unmanned satellite only 2 feet in diameter. Immediately, the rest of the world were both astonished and fearful. While many acknowledged (albeit reluctantly in some cases) this achievement, the US in particular were concerned about the consequences of this feat. Many Americans could not understand how the Soviet Union was supposed to be less technologically advanced that the USA, providing a lower standard of living to its citizens, yet could so decisively pull ahead of the USA in this area. It was also difficult to know what was inside of Sputnik- could the USSR use this technology to deliver nuclear weapons? The Soviet Union had already successfully tested the first ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile), the R7, in May 1957.
One month later, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2, this time with a living organism inside. Laika was a stray dog found on the streets of Moscow and survived re-entry to Earth, only to die a few hours later of overheating. The US response to these developments was to pass the National Aeronautics and Space Act which formed the National Aeronatics and Space Administration or NASA for short.
Although Sputnik 1 was the first man-made satellite to be sent into orbit around the Earth, the Nazis had successfully propelled V2 rockets into space in 1943, during World War II. These V2 rockets had been used as weapons of war and following the surrender of Germany in 1945, American and Soviet forces brought many of the German V2 scientists back to the USA and USSR to work on their respective rocket programs. One of these scientiests, Werner von Braun, was instrumental in designing the Saturn 5 rockets, which were used to propel the Apollo Lunar Modules into space.
Early American attempts to catch up with the USSR were unsuccessful. The launch of the Vanguard TV3 in December 1957 was a failure, as the rocket exploded on take-off. The news of this failure was met with derogatory headlines such as 'Kaputnik' and 'Flopnik' and by Soviet delight at American shortcomings. Finally, in January 1958, the first American satellite, the Explorer 1, was launched into space.
One month later, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2, this time with a living organism inside. Laika was a stray dog found on the streets of Moscow and survived re-entry to Earth, only to die a few hours later of overheating. The US response to these developments was to pass the National Aeronautics and Space Act which formed the National Aeronatics and Space Administration or NASA for short.
Although Sputnik 1 was the first man-made satellite to be sent into orbit around the Earth, the Nazis had successfully propelled V2 rockets into space in 1943, during World War II. These V2 rockets had been used as weapons of war and following the surrender of Germany in 1945, American and Soviet forces brought many of the German V2 scientists back to the USA and USSR to work on their respective rocket programs. One of these scientiests, Werner von Braun, was instrumental in designing the Saturn 5 rockets, which were used to propel the Apollo Lunar Modules into space.
Early American attempts to catch up with the USSR were unsuccessful. The launch of the Vanguard TV3 in December 1957 was a failure, as the rocket exploded on take-off. The news of this failure was met with derogatory headlines such as 'Kaputnik' and 'Flopnik' and by Soviet delight at American shortcomings. Finally, in January 1958, the first American satellite, the Explorer 1, was launched into space.
Yuri Gagarin
In April 1961, the USSR followed up the success of Sputnik with another first- Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, completing an orbit in his Vostok spacecraft. NASA, who had already formed Project Mercury- a human spaceflight program of 7 astronauts that aimed to achieve this feat before the USSR, responded by putting Alan Sheppard in space one month later.
It was at this point that US President John F. Kennedy realized simply catching up with the USSR was not acceptable. In the summer of 1961, Kennedy proposed to congress that the USA should embrace the national goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth" by the end of the 1960's. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth.
It was at this point that US President John F. Kennedy realized simply catching up with the USSR was not acceptable. In the summer of 1961, Kennedy proposed to congress that the USA should embrace the national goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth" by the end of the 1960's. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth.
The Apollo Missions
In response to Kennedy's 1961 Moon announcement, the Apollo space program was created. In the meantime, the Soviet Union continued to pull ahead in the Space Race. The first Extravehicular Activity (EVA), or space walk, was completed by Alexei Leonov in March 1965. Edward White achieved the same feat for the Americans in May 1965. Going almost unnoticed, the US were preparing to be the first nation to land a man on the moon by successfully completing a range of less eye-catching, but nonetheless vital, missions such as the Ranger 7 mission, which transmitted close images of the lunar surface in 1964.
Despite some setbacks along the way (Apollo 1 caught fire during a launch rehearsal in April 1967, killing all members of the crew), Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first and second humans to successfully land on the Moon on July 21st 1969, as a part of the Apollo 11 mission. Although the Soviets had been the first nation to put a satellite into orbit and put a man into space, the Moon landings were most significant achievement of the Space Race era.
Despite some setbacks along the way (Apollo 1 caught fire during a launch rehearsal in April 1967, killing all members of the crew), Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first and second humans to successfully land on the Moon on July 21st 1969, as a part of the Apollo 11 mission. Although the Soviets had been the first nation to put a satellite into orbit and put a man into space, the Moon landings were most significant achievement of the Space Race era.
Apollo-Soyuz and the End of Space Race
Following the Moon landings and a cooling in Cold War tensions, the Space Race reached a conclusion with the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. This was a successful docking of an American Apollo module with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, culminating in a handshake between NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts.
Legacy of the Space Race
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Quite apart from achieving some major accomplishments, the Space Race delivered some important, and previously unforeseen, discoveries. These discoveries (or inventions) including memory foam, Global Positioning System (GPS), microwave ovens, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and more accurate weather forecasting. Equally important, funding for Math and Science education in American schools also increased significantly.
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