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The history of space exploration
The history of space exploration
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Randy Colon Professor David Mathews English 121-060 11 May 2015 Privatization Is The Future of Space Exploration Mankind’s exploration of space is approaching its 60-year anniversary. In its splendor, space exploration is a very expensive task. Just recently, the government has begun to allow private corporations to bid on and compete for the job of putting Americans in space. NASA is coming to realize that for us to progress in space, we need to do it more efficiently, and for less money. It all started when the Soviet Union launched a small satellite the size of a basketball into orbit. Sputnik was launched on October 4, 1957 (Darling 412). On April 12, 1959, the Soviets put the first human, Yuri Gargarin into space (Darling 145). In those first few years of human space exploration the Soviet Union distanced itself from the United States. It would take the United States two additional years to send astronaut Alan Shepard, Jr. into space aboard Freedom 7 (Darling 272). In May 1961 President John F. Kennedy outlined the goal of sending a man to the moon by the end of the decade. He stated, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth” (Kennedy). That speech set into motion a chain Perhaps when my children are my age, a trip to Mars or even to the moon will be something that the average citizen can look forward to. After our nation has spent trillions on learning how to get into space, it is time to pass the torch. It may very well be that only through privatization, competition and collaboration, that the price tag of orbiting the Earth will finally become reasonable. Until then I can only close my eyes and picture the sign on our first extra terrestrial colony. It could very well read, “Welcome to Mars Colony, Sponsored by PNC
The Soviet’s were responsible for putting man on the moon, rovers on Mars, and launching the Hubble Space Telescope. Indeed, it was the United States’ foes that drove the U.S. to accomplish perhaps the greatest feats of the twentieth century. Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, tensions between former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, began to grow. In the following decades, the two superpowers would duke it out in competitions and tremendous shows of nationalism. They formed unmatchable rivalries in politics, economics, sciences, and sports. These rivalries would become clear when two countries competed in the space race, a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union concerning achievements in the field of space exploration. The Soviet’s took the early lead as they put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch of Sputnik 1 established a sense of fear into the American Public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s which opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations.
... “of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth” The space program fascinates the American people. In the early 1960s whenever space flights were launched during school hours students would gather in gyms and auditoriums to watch the lift offs on television. The race to the moon continued through the 1960s. It is one of the nations single most expensive projects of the decade, costing $56 billion.
The United Space endured a long, competitive, tumultuous, and primed-to-explode relationship with the Soviet Union since its inception. The Space Race was perhaps the greatest spectacle of scientific engineering in the first 5.755 millennia. The U.S. had to reclaim its superior status after the Soviets launched Sputnick I into orbit on October, 4, 1957, and launched Yuri Gagarin into space on April 12, 1961 as the first human in space. Kennedy knew that the American people wanted a victory in the space race, and realized that, being so far away, the United Space could achieve it. Then, on September 12, 1962, President Kennedy gave the “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort”. This address is best known by this paragraph:
For example in 1957 of October 4, Sputnik which is the first artificial satellite was launched into space (document F). The poster is from Fatherland, it's from a race of stars. Therefore more about who went to space on Nov. 3, 1957, the first dog goes to space his name was Laika. After that in 1961 April 12, the first astronaut man named Cosmonaut Yuri. It was two years since the first guy became into an astronaut that in 1963 of June 16, Valentina Tereshkova the first woman goes to
The Soviets took a lead by launching the first successful satellite into space. On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I and it successfully entered Earth’s orbit. This first success started the Space Age. The Soviets successful launch shocked the whole world, giving the Soviet Union the respect for putting the first man-made object into outer space. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months after Sputnik I, called the Explorer I. The US would have had the first satellite in orbit if they were allowed to use military rockets from the beginning. But, Eisenhower was worried he would be called a warmonger if he used military rockets for launching a satellite into orbit. He told the sci...
On May 25, 1961, just two weeks after the US had successfully got an American into space, John F. Kennedy gave a speech addressing it and exclaimed, "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. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish..." (Kruse). The Space Race became an important event for all of humanity during the 20th century because it improved our knowledge of space, improved and inspired new technology, and improved our education. It sparked a mix of both friendly and non friendly competition between the Capitalist United States and the Communist Russia (USSR) from the launch of Sputnik in 1957, all the way to the Apollo-Soyuz project that ended the race in 1975 .
Early on in the race, the USSR was very successful. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, which triggered the start of the space race (John F. Kennedy). The United States began to scramble, trying to catch up with the Soviets. However, soon after, the Soviet Union completed another huge success. They sent the first man to orbit Earth (John F. Kennedy). In 1961 the USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever orbit the Earth (John F. Kennedy). The United States was still unsuccessful and beginning to look weak. After that, America got serious. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy asked Congress for around eight billion dollars to build up the space program over the next five years (John F. Kennedy). The president declared, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” (John F. Kennedy).
As a country we need to start investing more money and research into space technology. Programs currently exist for this effort, but the potential for research and progress is limited by a lack of funding; compared to other government funded programs, aerospace funding is pitiful. Continued research in space technology is a necessary step in our growth and development not just as a country but also as entire human race. If we are to achieve this goal, it is necessary to increase funding for space research and technology and consider the possibility of colonizing outer space. If we limit our existence to the planet Earth, and continue to drain the resources on this planet, we will destroy the only home we have.
The Space Race began in or around the late-1950s, during the Cold War. The United States and Russia were both anxious to become the country to explore space. Unfortunately for the US, Russia launched the first artificial satellite and man-made object to orbit Earth, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik surprised the United States, and we rushed to get our own space craft into space, and to beat Russia to anything else space related.
When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration. A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title as the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds,
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
“On July 16, 1969 the world watched in anticipation as three men were hurtled skyward in a rocket bound for the moon.” (news.nationalgeographic.com). This was the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first successful manned mission to the moon. This mission was the product of the space race (race to see who would go into outer space first, against the Soviet Union). This goal was set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 and he promised that we would be the first to step on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo 11 mission is often cited as the greatest achievement in human history. (news.nationalgeographic.com)
Neil Armstrong looked at it not only as a great triumph for America, but also for the human race when he said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" on his first step on the moon (Dunbar). On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech about what he called "urgent national needs" at a stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas (“NASA Moon Landing”). In that speech, he challenged America to "commit itself to landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the decade"(Schlager and Lauer). This became known as Kennedy's challenge and the idea was to outperform the Soviets. While the Soviets were off to a better start with the launch of Sputnik I, we soon rose to the challenge and accomplished our goal only eight years later on June 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin safely landed on the moon. With the great accomplishments of Apollo 11, America had bettered the Soviets and established superiority in space.
NASA’s research and innovation looked promising, but it came at a cost. Money, resources, and spacecraft accidents, most famously Apollo 13 all hindered NASA’s research. In the 21st century, the debate over funding for NASA is at its peak since the birth of the organization in 1958, especially when there are numerous problems throughout the world. Is the money spent on space exploration worth the advantages and advances it contributes to society? When considering this topic, one might ask themselves, why explore space?
Most people think that the costly downside to funding space exploration is a reason to avoid spending money on sciences and instead spend it on problems here on earth, but such funding for space exploration actually promotes economical as well as scientific benefits. Space exploration is an important expenditure for the high cost because of the potential for numerous benefits such as the possibility to find useful resources to cultivate, space exploration and satellites produce many thousands of jobs in our economy, and it creates and discovers newer and better technologies through research and development.