The Second Space Race: An Analysis
Nations watched and cheered on Terra’s distant shore
As one man finally took a step no one ever took before
In our hearts and in our minds his words will be enshrined
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” (Roy Jerden, 2013)
The final line of that poem was uttered in 1969, a time period when the United States and the Soviet Union did not fight with the blistering heat of gunfire, but with the cold progress of proxy wars and technological prowess. Neither of these superpowers wanted their ideologies to seem inferior and thus bolstered their efficiency on numerous fronts, including space exploration. The Soviet Union fired the first shots by launching Sputnik I and II in 1957. America responded by creating the National …show more content…
Originally intended as a project of goodwill between sixteen countries, it became a battleground of countries vying for places aboard the ISS. However, it remains one of if not the most brilliant collaborative achievements in human history. It will show to effectively define international cooperation beyond the atmosphere for centuries to come. The ISS altered the way people thought; Americans and Russians were no longer those particular citizens, but members of a greater order: humanity. Astronauts from the sixteen countries who helped build the ISS did not fly under their flag’s colors, but over them with the colors of humanity. Unfortunately, with tense diplomatic relations with China, the U.S. issued a demand that the Chinese were not to be allowed to board the ISS. The U.S. and Russia also faced difficult diplomatic relations in the early parts of the 21st century and their cooperation with each other dwindled, though American astronauts still access the ISS by Russian spacecraft. As a result of the political climate, the ISS became a backdrop for China and Russia to defect from international cooperation with other major competitors in the Second Space
As one man finally took a step no one ever took before
In our hearts and in our minds his words will be enshrined
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” (Roy Jerden, 2013)
The final line of that poem was uttered in 1969, a time period when the United States and the Soviet Union did not fight with the blistering heat of gunfire, but with the cold progress of proxy wars and technological prowess. Neither of these superpowers wanted their ideologies to seem inferior and thus bolstered their efficiency on numerous fronts, including space exploration. The Soviet Union fired the first shots by launching Sputnik I and II in 1957. America responded by creating the National …show more content…
Originally intended as a project of goodwill between sixteen countries, it became a battleground of countries vying for places aboard the ISS. However, it remains one of if not the most brilliant collaborative achievements in human history. It will show to effectively define international cooperation beyond the atmosphere for centuries to come. The ISS altered the way people thought; Americans and Russians were no longer those particular citizens, but members of a greater order: humanity. Astronauts from the sixteen countries who helped build the ISS did not fly under their flag’s colors, but over them with the colors of humanity. Unfortunately, with tense diplomatic relations with China, the U.S. issued a demand that the Chinese were not to be allowed to board the ISS. The U.S. and Russia also faced difficult diplomatic relations in the early parts of the 21st century and their cooperation with each other dwindled, though American astronauts still access the ISS by Russian spacecraft. As a result of the political climate, the ISS became a backdrop for China and Russia to defect from international cooperation with other major competitors in the Second Space