The Space Race
Grace Slotterback
The Space Race
The Space Race lasted from 1957-1975 and during that time the Soviet Union and the United States were competing to reach new frontiers regarding Space travel and rocket technology.
October 4, 1957
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the earth. This begins the race between the two countries because the United States fears that the Soviet Union can launch nuclear rockets and spy on them.
July 20, 1969
The United States launches Apollo 11 and two Americans walked on the moon. This was a monumental event of the Space Race.
April 19, 1971
The Soviet Union launches Salyut 1, the first orbiting space station.
The Cold War and the Space Race
The Space Race was going on at the same time as the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, the two countries were racing to acquire more nuclear weapons than the other, and during the Space Race, the two countries were racing to show supremacy in the fields of rocket technology and space exploration. Each time a country made a new advance it showed they had new technology which meant they could be capable of creating new weapons.