Today, ‘astronaut’ is a common career heard when children are asked what they want to be when they grow up. However, this was not the case in the early 20th century or even in the 1950s. The reason for this change was the space race, an extension of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States for superiority of space technology. It all started in October 1957 when Russia launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite, into orbit. The launch of Sputnik shocked the American public and brought about the beginnings of the space age, eventually leading to the founding of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the launch of Explorer I, and finally a man on the moon. Although the moon landing ended the space race, …show more content…
Despite that during the space race many thought that the monetary investment in space would not yield any achievements, they could not have been more wrong. In the article “Space Race”, of the 1965 New York Times, the author writes… “In the USSR - as everywhere else - there are great unmet needs to which at least some of the billions spent on space research could be more usefully diverted. In the Soviet Union, no less than in the United States, it is a distorted priority system that puts such prestige feats in space so far ahead of the real needs on earth” (The Space Race). However, what this author did not realize was that despite the appearance that the billions going to space research did not affect life on earth, but was only to prove superiority over the Soviet Union, it eventually improved life for everyone through the expansion of technology in everyday …show more content…
For example, Computed Axial Tomography (CAT) Scanners have greatly improved the diagnosis of disease and injury. Smoke detectors, first invented by NASA, have grown from being installed in only 10% of homes in 1975 to 95% in 2000, and as of today have cut home fire deaths by half (Dubner). Today, there are thousands of “artificial moons” (satellites) orbiting the Earth, without which life in the twenty first century would not be the same. Satellites are now used in not just for satellite television, but also satellite radio and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), both of which now come standard in the majority of cars. The water filter, another NASA invention, has changed the lives of countless people around the world, giving them access to clean water that they would not otherwise have (Otto). All of these inventions have changed life for nearly all Americans as well as for people across the
To begin with, after and during the "Space Race" there were many achievements that no other country have accomplished, but what were the 3 most considerable achievements of the Space Race or in other words, what were the 3 most important achievements of the Space Race and why are they the most important. Adding on, the Soviets sending Yuri Gagarin the first man to ever to voyage into outer space. Gagarin had become the 1st man to voyage outer space after his Vostok spacecraft had completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12th, 1961, when he returned home he was recognized as a National hero to his Country. Because of this, the Soviets were the first to achieve sending a man into outer space. Nevertheless, it was also
How did the Space race improve society with their advanced technology? We know they had advanced in technology that wasn't here 50 years ago, but, how did technology built for space go in our everyday lives? One of the most obvious technologies that we created was Satellite Tv, this is one of the tech breakthroughs that we couldn't think of a life without to keep us entertained. The same goes for computers and laptops. The Space Race made satellites a possibility when they were used to communicate with astronauts before soon they made satellite dishes. NASA invented many pieces of technology that both benefited them in space and people at home watching TV, playing on their video games and even where I'm typing this on... the computer.
During the Cold War between 1947-1991, the Space Race took place between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers of the world. The Cold War was a time of political tension between both nations; the Space Race is just a small segment of the story to be explained of the forty-four year time period. The Space Race was never intentionally made between the two powers, but became a natural stand to show who is the more commanding country. The main reason of the Space Race was to see which country had the most potential in not only spaceflight, but as an overall country. The significance of the Space race was to show dominance over either country by placing a satellite into orbit, sending the first men to space, and
The period after World War Two, known as the Cold War, was a period of brinkmanship between the world superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. This conflict was fought across the world as these two powers tried to advance their ideologies while blocking the others through military battles and by social prestige. Among the arms race between these powers, a technological battle unfolded, called the Space Race. This race sent humans into space as the two sides took huge risks to outperform the other, giving humanity some of its greatest achievements. This paper will look at the events and outcome surrounding the space race and answer three main questions. First, what led up the Space Race and the Soviet Union’s early victories? Second, how did the United States respond? Fourth, how did the Space Race affect the Cold War? Fourth, what made the United States Space Program more successful compared to the Soviet Union’s?
The space race was a race to see who could do more and get more done in space. It was done against the U.S and the USSR. The USSR was the first to make something orbit the Earth that was the spacecraft Sputnik I. In 1957 USSR launch the Sputnik I it took 98 minutes to make its orbit. It spend 21 days in space before it burned up in the atmosphere. The USSR later launched Sputnik II. It carried the first living thing in space a dog named Laika.The US was going crazy on how Russia has passed them in technology. Almost two years later the US made the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The USSR kept on making successful launches in may 1958 they launch Sputnik III which carried 2 thousand pounds to space. In April 1961 the USSR launched the Vostok I it had the first man to orbit the Earth his name was Yuri Gagarin. A month later the US had the first American to go to space his name was Alan Shepard.
The Space Race was a very interesting and important part in the history of the United States of America. The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. People all over the world bought a television to see Neil Armstrong be the first man to land on the moon. The Space Race was a huge victory for the United States, also it brought united all of us. As Neil Armstrong said " That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
The Space Race had so many things happening while it was on. For that was because the Soviet Union and America were going at it so they both wanting to be at the top. They were trying hard to be so good and be better than one another. From that, they made so much advanced technology that we use today.
With the Soviet?s ongoing ? wins? during the beginning of the Race, one of the ideas behind their success was that they had increased science and maths education, especially for children and young adults in school. Which would naturally encourage interest in technology, and the continuation of scientific discovery in the next generation. The Space Race still stands as one of the greatest examples of what our one country can accomplish if they have the strong motivation and mindset that they need.
Section #1 - Introduction (thesis) In the 1950’s to the 1960’s the US and the soviet union were in a race to the moon. The primary causes for the Cold War space race, was the Geographical control, Cultural desires. The cold war space race can be related to the technological advancement race that are taking place between the US and other countries like China and Japan. Section #2 - Background
During the space race, both the US and the Soviet Union achieved a lot. Some say the US won the race because it landed the first human on the Moon but no one can take anything away from the USSR. Soviet accomplished a lot and had more “firsts” then the US until the US caught up. Both the US and the USSR won the space race.
On May 25, 1961 President John Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress and stated the following “I believe 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 Earth.” This was the start to the fire of the Space Race. The Space Race was a time where the U.S and the Soviet Russians were going head to head for power, control, and weapons. A critical point in the Cold War, the Space Race defined technology at the time and proved the capacity of human making. With millions of people watching a “global competition”, with the only goal being the first on the moon.
During the Cold War, the United States and Russia had a severe space race between one another. Every time one country would be a step ahead of the other, and somehow one of the countries would catch up to the more advanced country at the time. During the early years of the space race, success was measured by what nation did what first: To the alarm of the United States, each of the early adventures were achieved by the Soviet Union. And all of those events triggered the United States to drive and catch up with to surpass the Soviet Union. This sort of see-saw method happen throughout the space race. Throughout this paper, there will be a discussion on the space race between the United Stated and
The Space Race exacerbated the tense relationship between the USA and USSR from 1957 to 1969 because the advancements made in Space technology were used as a means to indicate political and ideological superiority. (Garcia & Lusigan, 2005). The yet-to-be-discovered Space became the perfect arena in which each ideological system, namely Capitalism
During the what is considered to be the most heated section of the Space Race during 1960s, it was a NASA Administrator named James Webb who held fast, determined and calling upon all his skills, he went on to push the U.S. rocket program past seemingly never ending political barriers, far beyond the outstretched hands of jealous rivals, and forward on to success. James Edwin Webb was only the second administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, established semi-recently in 1958. NASA was created with the idea that the United States could develop a state-of-the-art space exploration program that would go on to outdo, and unravel the Soviet Union's program. The U.S. was quickly sinking into the swamp that was the Cold
The space race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union that occurred during the Cold War. They competed for dominance in space technology and spaceflight, which spurred many significant inventions and events. Some of these inventions and events include the first-ever landing on the moon, the first artificial satellite to be launched into the Earth’s orbit, the establishment of NASA, the invention of the microprocessor computer, the invention of satellite communication technology, and other direct and indirect impacts. Each of the different events and inventions that spawned from the space race have had significant impacts on the United States economy.