The Space Race: United Sates And The Soviet Union

The space race is a competition between the United Sates and the Soviet Union, the two Cold War rivals during the 20th century regarding achievements in the field of space exploration. It began in 1955 when both countries announced that they would soon be launching satellites into orbit. The Soviets took the US announcement as a challenge and even established a commission whose goal was to beat the US in putting a satellite into space. The Space Race can trace its origins to Germany, beginning in the 1930s and continuing during World War II when Nazi Germany researched and built operational ballistic missiles. Starting in the early 1930s, during the last stages of the Weimar Republic, German aerospace engineers experimented with liquid-fueled
Von Braun had dreams about conquering outer space with rockets, and did not initially see the military value in missile technology. The Soviet Union was successful in placing the first satellite into orbit. On October 4th, 1957, they launched Sputnik I into space. This granted them the lead in the race. The Explorer I was successfully placed into orbit by the US four months later. The Soviets basically “won” the race by putting the first man into space. Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the Earth in April 12th, 1961 in the spacecraft Vostok I. The US then launched Alan Shepherd in the Freedom 7 three weeks later, but it took a nearly a year for the first American to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 on the 20th of February (Ducksters.com). Before Glenn’s orbit, President John F. Kennedy claimed that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The launch of Apollo 8 occurred in December
U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on their space mission on the 16th. After landing successfully on July 20, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon’s surface where he said the famous words: “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” (History.com) By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. The Soviets however failed four lunar attempts between 1969 and 1972. During the time period, the American public’s attention was captivated by the space race, and the ongoing situation and completion between the Soviet and U.S. space programs were heavily covered in the national media. Astronauts came to be seen as American heroes, and earth-bound men and women seemed to enjoy living vicariously through them. Soviets, in turn, were pictured as the ultimate villains, with their massive, relentless efforts to surpass America and prove the power of the communist system. The Space Race came to a conclusion in 1975, with the launching of the Apollo-Soyuz project, the first joint US-Soviet space mission. The two powers have collaborated on space exploration ever