THE SPACE RACE
The Fight for Power in the World Continues in Space
Soviets Vs. America in THE COLD WAR
America and The Soviet Union have both been struggling for world power among each other in all of the years of the Cold War. It was originally about containing Communism and just resulted in high tensions. But in the later years of the Cold War it became a race for everything; who could do it first and who could do it most. For example to Arms Race was the race to build the most powerful weapon and have the most. Well this led to the Space Race, or the period of time where high power countries struggled to be first in all new technologies involving space.
SOVIETS Lead AMERICA Plays Catchup
The Space Race became a known event in October of 1957 when the worlds first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviets. America worried greatly that they were lagging in new technology discoveries and inventions. They also feared if the Soviets could launch satellites they could launch missiles on U.S. soil. The U.S. then established the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) to keep up in the Space Race. A Sputnik 2 was launched about a month later. By January of 1958 America had launched their first satellite, and as the competition heats up more and more satellites are being launched into orbit.
Comparisons of Countries Space Program Budgets
Timeline Of Space Race Events
Continuation
MEN IN SPACE
Crazy to think about at this time, right? On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space and orbits the earth once. JFK had been elected by this time and claimed that before the end of the decade America would land, and safely return, a man to the moon. More and more men are sent to space to orbit earth until Kennedy's assassination. Although he never saw it through, on July 20, 1969 The United States became the first country to have a man on the moon.
IN CONCLUSION
The Space Race was a major part of the Cold War with heated tensions rising many times. America showed our ability to compete with more advanced technology by funding them with budgets of billions. The Space Race was ground breaking technology discoveries for all future electronics and inventions. Without this element of the Cold War, America would not have become known as the most powerful country in the world and be as advanced as it is today.