Space Race vs. Cold War
What are the parallels?
Major Events
1957: The USSR launches Sputnik 1.
1958: The USA launches the first American satellite to reach orbit, which leads to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.
1958: The USA forms NASA, which replaces the former program NACA.
1960: John F. Kennedy is elected the 35th president.
1961: Yuri Gagarin, from the USSR, is the first man to orbit in space.
1961: President John F. Kennedy addresses Congress and challenges the nation to go to the Moon before the end of the decade.
1963: President Kennedy is assassinated.
1969: Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin are the first men to walk on the moon.
Why Important?
The Space Race was considered important because it showed the world which country had the best science, technology, and economic system. The U.S and Soviet Union were the two supreme powers of the world with two totally different political views. Nations were choosing sides, some becoming communists and others becoming capitalists. The Space Race showed which system worked better.
Parallels between The Cold War and The Space Race
- Both of them were between the Soviet Union and The U.S.A
- Both of them were mainly about the difference between Capitalism and Communism
- Each nation wanted to win and have supreme power over the other
- The distrust between them never swayed
- Both of them risked lives on both sides