Winston Churchill called it 'Mutually Assured Destruction', meaning that the US and the USSR could not engage each other in combat without it escalating to the level of an all-out nuclear war, which would leave both superpowers destroyed.
The Soviet Union
Sputnik I was the first satellite in space. It was a simple sphere that transmitted meaningless 'beep' messages, but its first orbit of the Earth marked the start of the Space Race.
R7 Semyorka
R7 Semyorka
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Vostok Program
Yuri Gagarin
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The Vostok program resulted in many firsts in space.
Sputnik II took Laika the terrier into space on November 3, 1957, to study the effects of space on living organisms. Unfortunately, due to an error in the jettison stage, the thermal unit in the capsule malfunctioned and heated the compartment to 40° Celsius. As such, Laika only survived for 2 days instead of the planned 10. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth. He was followed by five other cosmonauts, including the first woman in space, Valentino Tereshkova, on June 16, 1963. |
Laika
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Voskhod Program
Soyuz Program
Vasily Mishin
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The next goal was to get a man on the moon. For this, Korolyov had designed the N1 rocket as well as the Soyuz manned spacecraft. However, after his death, control of the Soyuz program was handed to his second-in-command, Vasily Mishin. Mishin approved the Soyuz 1 launch, but it crashed.
The N1 rocket was undertested and underdeveloped. All four unmanned tests were failures, and one resulted in the largest non-nuclear explosion recorded, all because of a loose bolt. This set the Soviet Union back hugely, allowing America to pull ahead. After the American moon landing, there were plans for a Russian moon landing in the 1970s, but it was scrapped in 1974 and the focus shifted to the Salyut space stations. |
Salyut Space Station
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The United States of America
The first unmanned spacecraft launched by the US was the Vanguard, which was launched on December 6, 1957. It rose 1 meter, and then collapsed onto the launchpad. 3 months later, they launched Vanguard 1, which was a success and orbited Earth.
On July 29, 1958, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration was established by John F. Kennedy to control and monitor all the non-military usage of space. The first major project launched by NASA was Project Mercury. |
Vanguard Explosion
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Project Mercury
Alan Shepard
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The aim of Project Mercury was to see if man could survive in space, and put him into orbit. The first American to orbit Earth was Alan Shepard in May of 1961.
To determine whether humans could survive in outer space, Enos the chimpanzee was sent into space and successfully orbited the Earth twice. When it was established that man could survive in space, John Glenn became the first American in outer space in Friendship 7. The Mercury rockets were named by their pilots and included '7' as homage to the original 7 astronauts. |
John Glenn
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Project Gemini
Project Gemini to establish and record the long-term effects of spaceflight on humans, as well as docking and re-entry techniques. As 'Gemini' means 'twins' in Latin, all the Gemini spacecraft were manned by 2 astronauts.
Project Gemini led to many important milestones in the Space Race. On June 3, 1965, Ed White performed the first American spacewalk, testing various manoeuvres with a nitrogen gun. With every success, there are failures. On Gemini 8, Neil Armstrong and David Scott were in a spacecraft that was spinning at an alarming 1 revolution per second. Neil Armstrong kept his cool, and performed the first ever 'emergency landing' in American history. Neil Armstrong's level-headedness and composure exemplified him and was one of the factors leading to his choosing for Apollo 11. |
Ed White's space walk
Gemini 8 emergency landing
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I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.
- John F. Kennedy
May 25, 1961
May 25, 1961
Project Apollo
Earthrise
Video of Earthrise
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Project Apollo was the culmination of the previous efforts, and the goal was to achieve John F. Kennedy's dream.
Project Apollo was delayed because Project Gemini had to be completed. The first Apollo spacecraft, Apollo 1, blew up 17 seconds after launch, killing all 3 astronauts onboard. Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, and achieved many milestones, including the first time man saw earthrise. In the summer of 1969, with John F. Kennedys' deadline looming, NASA was ready to send men to the moon. On July 16, Apollo 11 was launched, carrying Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins. While landing on the moon, the Lunar Module faced difficulties. It was heading towards a crater full of rocks. Neil Armstrong took manual control and landed the Module with only 15 seconds of fuel remaining. On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the moon, ending the Space Race. |
That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
- Neil Armstrong
July 21, 1969
July 21, 1969
Conclusion
The extremely competitive nature of the Cold War drove the enthusiasm and the will to win the Space Race. Also, the one-upping by each side led them to improve and refine their own technology to beat the other. The invention of the ICBMs influenced the Americans to build better, faster rockets for their space program. This shows how something that is used for the deepest evil can be repurposed and brought around for the better. In the space of 12 years, from the humble 'beep-beep'ing of Sputnik I to the awe-inspiring Moon Landing, the USA and the Soviet Union have made huge leaps and bounds in many aspects of technology and science. Clearly, the Apollo 11 moon landing gave America the edge over the Soviet Union and won them the Space Race, as the entire goal was to get a man on the moon. The technological advances in science and technology have forever changed the way humans see space, the final frontier. It is, as Neil Armstrong proclaimed "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind", and one rocket launch for science.
Works Cited
Books
Websites
Images
Videos
- Jeffrey, Gary, and Mike Lacey. Incredible space missions. New York, NY: Rosen Central, 2008. Print.
- Kelly, Nigel. The moon landing : the race into space. Chicago, Ill: Heinemann Library, 2001. Print.
Websites
- "Apollo." Apollo. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/apollo.aspx>.
- "The Cold War Museum." Cold War Museum. The Cold War Museum, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.coldwar.org/articles/60s/ColdWarMuseuminfoonApollo11MissionJuly1969_000.asp>.
- "Gemini." Gemini. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/gemini.aspx>.
- "History in Focus." The Cold War and the Early Space Race, an Article from. History in Focus, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/cold/articles/godwin.html>.
- "The Mercury Programme." Mercury. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/mercury.aspx>.
- "NASA." NASA. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/nasa.aspx>.
- "The Soviet Space Program." Soviet Space Program. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/soviet-space-program.aspx>.
- "The Soyuz Programme." Soyuz. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/soyuz.aspx>.
- "The Space Race." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/space-race>.
- "Space Race." Space Race. National Cold War Exhibition, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/schools-colleges/national-curriculum/space-race/>.
- "Encyclopedia Astronautica Voskhod." Voskhod. Encyclopeida Astronautica, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. <http://www.astronautix.com/project/voskhod.htm>.
- "NASA - NSSDC - Spacecraft - Details." NASA. NASA.gov, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1957-002A>.
- "VOSTOK MANNED SPACE PROGRAM 1961 - 1963." VOSTOK MANNED SPACE PROGRAM 1961 - 1963. Space Collection, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://www.spacecollection.info/sov_manned/vostok.html>.
- Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-7_Semyorka>.
Images
- "2000px-NASA_logo.svg." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/NASA_logo.svg/2000px-NASA_logo.svg.png>.
- "Alan_Shepard_pouso." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Alan_Shepard_pouso.jpg>.
- Apollo-Soyuz_-_Flickr_-_NASA_on_The_Commons. Digital image. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Apollo-Soyuz_-_Flickr_-_NASA_on_The_Commons.jpg>.
- "Armstrong_and_Scott_with_Hatches_Open_-_GPN-2000-001413." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Armstrong_and_Scott_with_Hatches_Open_-_GPN-2000-001413.jpg>.
- "Ed_White_performs_first_U.S._spacewalk_crop.jpg/1280px-Ed_White_performs_first_U.S._spacewalk_crop." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.
- "GeminiPatch." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/GeminiPatch.png>.
- "Glenn_Enters_his_Mercury_Capsule_-_GPN-2000-001029." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Glenn_Enters_his_Mercury_Capsule_-_GPN-2000-001029.jpg>.
- "Power_Tower_Space_Station_Concept." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Power_Tower_Space_Station_Concept.jpg>.
- "Scott_Gives_Salute_-_GPN-2000-001114." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Scott_Gives_Salute_-_GPN-2000-001114.jpg>.
- "24." Sama Regional History. Sama Regional History, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://xn----7sbbaazuatxpyidedi7gqh.xn--p1ai/>.
- "Vanguard_rocket_explodes." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Vanguard_rocket_explodes.jpg>.
- Yuri_Gagarin_(NASA). Digital image. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Yuri_Gagarin_(NASA).jpg>.
- 104286-050-EE20531B. Digital image. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://media-1.web.britannica.com/eb-media//86/104286-050-EE20531B.jpg>.
- Russia-Moscow-VDNH-Rocket_R-7-1. Digital image. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Russia-Moscow-VDNH-Rocket_R-7-1.jpg>.
- "SKorolow." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/SKorolow.jpg>.
- Sputnik_asm. Digital image. Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Sputnik_asm.jpg>.
Videos
- "Apollo_10_Earthrise." Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Apollo_10_Earthrise.ogv>.