The Space Race (1957 to 1975)
The space race was between the US and the Soviet Union.
Causes of the space race
Space Race 1961-1970
In May of 1961 President Kennedy made a bold statement, saying that by the end of the decade we wanted the US to successful get a man on the moon and get them back safely. Kennedy allowed NASA's budget to go up by 500 percent in order to beat out the Soviet Union. In 1967 NASA had a little bit of a setback because three astronauts were killed after their spacecraft caught fire during a launch simulation, but the process continued on as planned. On July 16,1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the first lunar landing attempt. After landing successfully on July 20, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. He famously said in that moment “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Even though he was not alive to see the moment, Kennedy's dream came true, and we "beat" the Soviet Union in the Space Race.