The Space Race
by Thomas Coulbourn
The Space Race and the Cold War
The Space Race and the Cold war were both tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War and the Space Race were very similar but with different technology. The Space Race was the competition to develop new and better space technology as quick as possible. The Cold War was the race to build and test the most powerful weapons.
The Sputnik
A Russian scientist works on the first satellite, the Sputnik.
Yuri Gagarin
The first human in outer space, who orbits around the world once.
The Moon Landing
Neil Armstrong next to the American flag on the moon during the first moon landing.
Major Events in the Space Race
The Space Race started when Russia put their satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. The United States reacted by putting Explorer 1 into orbit, their first satellite. Soon after, the race began to get humans into outer space. Both countries developed innovative technology, but the first person in orbit was Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union. Year after year these two countries fought to put more satellites and astronauts into space to gather intel and technology to get an astronaut on the moon. In July of 1969, United States made history when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first people ever to walk on the moon. This was the final event in the Space Race before it ended.