The Impact of the Space Race on Modern America Since the beginning of time, man has been fascinated with the stars and their possibilities. The Mayans are very likely one of the most well known ancient astronomers. In the Mesoamerican culture, celestial events were thought to be a communication from the gods; this influenced their religious culture greatly. But the astronomical studies that really made the Mayans stand out, were the ones that they used to create a complex calendar system and a way to measure the passing of time. This helped them greatly with their crop seasons, ceremonies, and a multitude of other things in their daily lives. ("StarTeach Astronomy Education.") Another popular place to find astronomers, in early history, …show more content…
NASA didn?t exactly create the modern detector, but they did figure out how to separate the detection of smoke versus non-threatening water vapor using non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy. Which created the common detector, now used to detect smoke and hazardous gas leaks in just about every home in America, and can be used to prevent deaths on a daily basis. New health methods and technology were created for astronauts, and have now become everyday life savers for modern medicine in America. In the harsh outer space conditions that astronauts would have to endure, they needed special monitoring systems to keep them in check, such as programmable pacemakers, and blood pressure monitoring. Which would become the incredible modern thing that is telemedicine. The ability to monitor a person's health remotely is booming in the U.S. and has started quickly spreading to other …show more content…
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. The United States has always been an independent, and competitive country. Whether the USSR gave us a nuclear war threat, or the threat of becoming greater than we were (in the form of space knowledge and technology that is), we stood strong and fought against it. It stands as an illustration for what innovation can do to push us into an unknown world of even more advanced scientific knowledge. The Space Race pushed our country into a new era, through scientific, technological, and medical advancements that are still being used today, and are continuously
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.
Space Race Timeline says, “October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik into Earth orbit. The first man-made satellite passes overhead, making one revolution every 90 minutes.”. Not but three months and twenty-seven days after the USSR launched their first satellite, the US decided that they needed to be more advanced in space technology than the USSR. This launched the “Space Race” between the USSR and the US, competing to create more advanced technology.
Looking back it is easy to understand why the Russians leaped ahead in the space race; however, our leaders used all available assets, closed the gap and won the race. What is hard to believe is the successful satellite launch by the Soviet Union, has the most far-reaching effects in our recent history.
The space race was the event the began the interest in space exploration. It all started in 1957 during the Cold War, when there was tension between America and the Soviet Union. There was also new technology from the war. According to Murray (Date unknown) “Many people believed the nation that controlled the skies could win any war.”(para. 5). So when the Soviet Union decided to launch the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit America was not happy.
Section 3: Reflection: Through this investigation, I wanted to share that the Space Race was not something that happened in a vacuum, it was instead a continuation from WWII, the key players in the program bought knowledge from Hitler's rocket programs. The race also highlighted the approach to science across different cultures. Science needs people to experiment without fear and with passion. The Soviet space program was driven through the passion of one man and the system allowed him to experiment rapidly by keeping him out of the public space. In the USA the fear of failure and public examination had slowed the program with no one wanting to risk their reputation.
Do you remember when you were a little kid and you dreamed about exploring the stars? Imagine if when you grow up not only are you an astronaut but you were also competing to be the first to travel the galaxy. During the 1950s to the 1970s this was the case for the astronauts in the United States of America and the Soviet Union. The United States of America and the Soviet Union competed to be the first ones to explore space. All of the hostilities were thanks to the Cold War a war of words and ideas between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. that lasted from 1948-1991. In this essay, I will write about one of the events in the Cold War – The Space Race: how it started, how people reacted, and who won the long lasting competition.
The United States has explored space since as early as 1946 with various space technologies (Van Allen). Space technology has enabled the U.S. to explore the universe and discover much beyond planet Earth. Although we have made many successful launches to space several times, there are trade-offs assumed from utilizing space technology that was beneficial and quite costly. It is in our best interest that we continue to enhance our space technologies and continue our presence in outer space to uphold our leadership position. The U.S. dominates space exploration and utilization; in turn, this has afforded us military power, sustained our national security and provided us with economic advantage. The U.S. space program’s history is made up of
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.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” [Address at Rice University, September 12 1962]- John F. Kennedy. The space race was a turing pointin U.S history. With cold war tension rising between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, they turned to space to prove their dominance. However, space exploration did have it’s critics. Many Americans saw that the spending of $23 billion dollars was unnecessary (Historyshots). “There are so many problems to solve on this planet first before we begin to trash other worlds.” - E.A. Bucchianeri, (Brushstrokes of a Gadfly). Many didn't realize that in a sense we were getting our selfs into.The U.S was basically getting them selfs into another war, but this was to be a different
In 1957, the two Cold War rivals, the United States and Soviet Union, competed for superiority over space traveling abilities. The dispute over who won the space race is unimportant, because both countries brought new advances in technology and inspired millions around the world. However, space exploration should not continue because it spends millions of tax dollars that could be used on Earth, and because it could disrupt and destroy the planet.
The Space Race started in the middle of the 1950’s, and it was a technological race between Russia and the United States to get into space and land on the moon. Russia was the first to successfully launch a satellite and launch a human into space, but the United States was the first to successfully land a man on the moon. It impacted education because it made more people want to become engineers, so the education system had to add more courses about math and science. The space race was good for the economy because it created jobs in all sorts of fields including science and technology. Many people were focused on how we would respond to Russia because we are the world super power. The impact of the Space Race was the race to get into space
The United Sates federal government is planning on cutting federal funding for space exploration and NASA towards the end of the year. The “Space Race” began in the 1950’s and 1960’s when Russia sent up the first successful, unmanned satellite named Sputnik in into outer space. The U.S. response was the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. During this time, the Soviets sent the first man in to orbit, Yuri Gagarin. Then, in July of 1969, the U.S. took the lead in the race by sending the first men to the moon on Apollo 11(“Space Exploration 1). Ever since then, space exploration has lead to the discovery of much beneficial information that has allowed us to invent some of the greatest devices we now use today. The
In the 1960’s, the U.S and Russian tensions were at an all-time high. It was the height of the cold war and both countries were economic power houses with massive armies and nuclear arsenals and they were in constant competition. The most famous of the competitions between the two, would be the Space Race. In the Space Race these two countries strived to be the first to escape Earth and venture into the unknown. With this friendly competition came many benefits, such as new technologies, an increased interest in math and sciences in the U.S, and other technologies such as satellites becoming publicly available. These benefits have changed the world and have shaped the high-tech society we live in today (Taylor).
The space race was an important time in history, for the U.S, USSR, and the rest of the world. Soon after World War II, the Soviet Union and United States began a global battle, communism against democracy. Space became a huge entity in the "war." Each side spend billions on besting each other's achievements in what later became known as the famous "Space Race."
Man’s curiosity for the environment that surrounds him fuels the ambition to explore past the realms of his being. The space race marked the first time homo sapiens were able to escape and extend their biosphere. This age is filled with technological advancement. The space race gave the ability for a new age of technological advancements to occur. Almost every technological device that is produced or owned by people in the 21st century world contains technology that was invented or derived from the space race. Technology is the product of modernization and industrialization. Society is forced to make adjustments in social, economic and political institutions as humans continue to progress. The results and the success of the space race was and still is a great triumph for mankind. However, the motive for the United States and the Soviet Union for reaching space is not explicit. Although the space race and the resulted technological innovations in science had elements that benefited human progress in a substantial manner, the general motive for the space race lies within the political aspect of society and the repercussions that came with the cold war.