American nationalism during the Space Race fueled support for NASA, resulting in great technological and scientific advancements during the Cold War. The hyper-competitive atmosphere surrounding the Cold War heightened already existing rivalry between the United States’ and the Soviet Union’s science programs. As the two superpowers struggled for technological dominance, the American people were swept into a frenzy of nationalism. The Science News-Letter pointed out that the Space Race was driven by, “nothing more or less than the ego-driven pressures of competition.” The idea of the Soviet Union both having a superior space program as well as having the capacity to attack the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) brought the U.S. space program off the ground. The Space Race is remarkably similar to that of the arms race because of the parallel between the creation of the atomic bomb and the goal of reaching the moon. The United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively established its place as the technologically superior nation; however, major milestones in space achieved early by the Soviets damaged America’s reputation. In 1957, Soviet scientists shocked the world by successfully launching the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, beyond the Kármán Line (the boundary of space). This amazing breakthrough “rattled American self-confidence. It cast doubts on America’s vaunted scientific superiority and raised some sobering military questions.” This blow to national pride along with the fear that the Soviets could potentially launch ICBMs from space led to “Rocket fever”. The sudden wave of nationalism and the desire to build a space program worthier to that of the Soviet Union led to the... ... middle of paper ... ...h, 2013. Eberhart, Jonathan. “Space Race Pace Quickens” The Science News-Letter (1965): 387, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3948639 (accessed April 16, 2014). (Primary Source) Byrnes, Mark E. Politics and Space: Image Making by NASA. (1994): 7, 52, 73, 170, http://www.questiaschool.com/read/27287526. (accessed April 16, 2014). Sitkoff, Harvard. Postwar America: A Student Companion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Gregory, Ross. Cold War America: 1946 to 1990. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2003. McQuaid, Kim. The Space Age at the Grass Roots: NASA in Cleveland, 1958-1990. (2006): 114, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40643956 (accessed April 18, 2014). Kennedy, John F. “1962 Rice University Transcript.” John F. Kennedy: Presidential Library and Museum. http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/MkATdOcdU06X5uNHbmqm1Q.aspx (accessed April 17, 2014). (Primary Source)
On a cold winter’s morning on the 28th day of January in the year 1986, America was profoundly shaken and sent to its knees as the space shuttle Challenger gruesomely exploded just seconds after launching. The seven members of its crew, including one civilian teacher, were all lost. This was a game changer, we had never lost a single astronaut in flight. The United States by this time had unfortunately grown accustomed to successful space missions, and this reality check was all too sudden, too brutal for a complacent and oblivious nation (“Space”). The outbreak of sympathy that poured from its citizens had not been seen since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The disturbing scenes were shown repeatedly on news networks which undeniably made it troublesome to keep it from haunting the nation’s cognizance (“Space”). The current president had more than situation to address, he had the problematic undertaking of gracefully picking America back up by its boot straps.
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.
In July of 1958, President Eisenhower passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a response to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik nine months earlier. That administration, now known worldwide as NASA, has become an icon of space exploration and mankind's accomplishments. Who would have thought that fifty years later, NASA's future would be so uncertain? Congress has recently proposed a bill that would significantly cut funding from the NASA's Constellation program. These budget cuts are unnecessary and are counterproductive to the original idea of the space program.
Sambaluk, PhD, Micholas Michael. "John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon." Air & Space Power Journal 27.5 (2013): 156-58. Print.
In the mid-1980’s, the shuttle space program was the focus of the political media since it had failed to deliver on its exp...
At the time of the space race, the United States was in the midst of the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Even in the early days of ...
The aerospace program gets a special coverage since it was the breaking point in the cold war. After the USSR launched the sputnik on 1957; US citizens and experts were in chock, the fear from losing the technology development race was in its pick. Moreover, the defeat of the US in Cuba in the Bay of Pigs ruined the American prestige and raises many questions about the ability of the US leaders to win the race. As a result, politician escalate the arm race and put more effort to catch up with the space race and restore faith of the people in the
Although the two countries never said that The Space Race was a competition, everyone knew it was because the two countries were already competing for weapons. The Soviets “won” the first “round” by shooting an item into space, Sputnik 1; this became the first human made satellite to be launched into space. This accomplishment had triggered the Space Race. About four months later, Wernher von Braun, a German engineer and space architect, and the US launched their first satellite, known as Juno 1. Wernher von Braun was said to be the “Father of Rocket Science”. Although Von Braun was a Nazis, he was allowed protection and entrance into America.
Hardersen, P. S. (1997). The case for space: who benefits from explorations of the last frontier. Shrewsbury, MA: ATL Press.
Works Cited Kerrod, Robin. The Illustrated History of NASA. New York: W. H. Smith Publishers Inc., 1986. Rainey, Clint. New York Magazine.
The two biggest superpowers of the world were waging a war: a war of supremacy. Indeed, the U.S needed to beat its rival, the Soviet Union, to win the Cold War. Both nations wanted to be the first on the moon, therefore, the United States strived to win the Space Race and consequently have victory over the Cold War. Given these facts, the Space Race not only helped the Americans have advantage in the Cold War, but has also affected America to this day.
Space travel was born from the flames of war – or in this case, the refrigerators of war. The Soviet Union and the United States were ready to show up each other in the fields of science and engineering, and with the recent advent of rocketry, it was evident that space was the next goal. Russia held the first few victories: including the first man-made satellite and the first man in space. Following these defeats, America picked itself up, and defeated the Russians on the race to the moon.
Space, the next frontier between us humans and the great unknown. As humans, we’ve always had a deep fascination with space, from the early days of the Greek philosophers who theorized what could be out there, to modern day efforts involving organizations such as N.A.S.A. and the E.S.A. However, since the 1960’s, back in the era of the Cold War and the Space Race, there has been a falling out on support for space exploration. Multitudes of space-exploration based organizations have received budget-cuts from their supporting governments along with reduced donations from public figures. Many believe that since we got a man on the moon and since we have satellites up and running in space our quest to dominate space is over, but these statements
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was July 20 1969, the day that reshaped our nation and gave us unparalleled dreams for the future. The impact of the day goes far beyond our pride and nationalism; that day would change space exploration and technology forever. Just like a shooting star, that day would give us a glimpse of hope. A chance to see an event so breathtaking and defying, it would be man’s greatest accomplishment in the 20th century. As millions of people watched from their TV sets, a rush of euphoria came over the nation as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the surface of the moon. It was the first time in the history of mankind that we would step on the surface of another celestial body. John F. Kennedy dared us to dream, he inspired the nation to reach for the moon, to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. The Space Race was symbolic of many things. Our future as the technically dominate nation was secured in place; just as secure as Old Glory would be, when she was driven down into the soil of the moon. We not only reached the moon, we conquered it as a nation; united.
In August of 1945 an Arms race began between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both sided contributed to the race by doing different things. The Soviet Union contributed to the race by launching the first spacecraft in space(Bently). This spacecraft was known as Sputnik, as a result of this people feared that Russia could send missiles to anywhere in the world because Russia had a bird's eye view of the whole world. Shortly after Russia released this spacecraft the United States was in hurry to get the first man in space. With the United States’ success they also had a bird's eye view of the world(Bentley). Both sides contributed to this