Rocket Dreams Essay

During the Cold War period, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were high, and both superpowers were building up their arsenals of nuclear weapons and trying to prove that one of them was scientifically and politically stronger than the other. Without any warning, the United States received news that their rivals had launched a satellite named Sputnik, which had a mass of ten times the size of the planned American satellite (Reeves). The American people were shocked. In author Francis French's words, “For the first time in a hundred years, we faced the fact that not only were we not the best at everything in the world, we were not even as good at some things.” American leaders decided that a grand space plan must be crafted

to salvage their country’s prestige. Although participation in the space race successfully resulted in an increase in scientific knowledge and had positive political and social consequences, the actions of past United States leaders were carried out for the sole purpose of triumphing over the Soviet Union.
While talk of space exploration had been occurring for some time, it was not a reality until space became a Cold War battleground for the United States and the Soviet Union. After the launch of Sputnik, President Dwight D. Eisenhower poured funds into the space program in hopes of one-upping the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The subsequent president, John F. Kennedy, gave a speech to Congress in 1961 saying his country "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” (Dunbar). This raised the stakes even higher by setting a due date. Following Kennedy’s assassination, President Johnson had to take over the space program and work to achieve this goal. However, it was not accomplished until Richard Nixon became president. In July of 1969, the nation's target was finally reached. Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon and secured the political and scientific lunar prize for the United States (Reeves). He spoke the famous words, “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For years, the space race has been regarded one of the most visible components of the Cold War (Reeves). Most Americans believe that their country spent money on the space race so that they could obtain new information on the universe. This was a very small bonus; in fact, the space race had little to do with space.
Prior to the space race, humans knew very little about the moon and interstellar universe in general. Presidents such as Kennedy and Johnson claimed that acquiring new information was part of their goal. In his moon speech at Rice University, President John F. Kennedy said, "We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won… and they must be won and used for the progress of all people" (“Space Race”). This indicates that he felt that the moon was unknown to the American people in his labeling it a "new sea." Additionally, he believed that the space race would solve the issue of the moons unfamiliarity and result in more knowledge and rights, which would be beneficial to the United States and mankind as a whole. This was partly an intention of the space race, and it was successful. The goal of discovering knowledge and using for the advancement of the people was achieved (Randoll).
Other world powers attempted to spend an equivalent amount of money to the United States on their space programs, and although they were less successful in the actual contest, their investments had beneficial effects on humankind. During and following the space race, there was a major improvement in the world’s technology (Randoll). Individuals now take for granted the various technologies that were developed during the space age. These items include Global Positioning Systems (GPS), worldwide communications, and satellite weather systems. Although no direct earnings were collected as a result of the moon program, the money that the government received from these newly created technologies outweighs the money that it spent on the space race (Dunbar). This information suggests that America was successful in its goal of technological advancement resulting from the space program because it resulted in so many new innovations. The worldwide satellite communications brought mankind closer together, and the product of these innovations outweighs the huge expense of the space race. Therefore, there were positive scientific effects of the space race.
Along with the improved worldwide communication, the space race had numerous positive social effects on America.

In her book Rocket Dreams, Marina Benjamin writes, "The impact of seeing the Earth from space focused our energies on the home planet in unprecedented ways, dramatically affecting our relationship to the natural world and our appreciation of the greater community of mankind and prompting a revolution in our understanding of the Earth.” She indicates that going to the moon shaped many individuals’ worldviews, and they began to value the earth more. She also points out that following the space race, humanity became more of a community and worked together to better understand the earth. Humans realized that their planet was tiny in comparison to the universe in which they live, which prompted them to take better care of it. In addition to shaping the general worldview, the space program had an influence on media and entertainment sources. Following the space race, a plethora of movies, TV shows, books, and more appeared that were focused on the uniqueness and complexities of the lunar world (Dunbar). This displays that the effects of the space race were diverse and spread to fields that were unanticipated. For instance, society began to cherish and better take care of the earth. Likewise, humans discovered that the lunar world is vast and intriguing and entertainment began to reflect

this.
Both the United States and the USSR knew going into the race that whichever country reached space first would have a huge advantage over everyone else. If the United States had not won the space race thereby winning the monopoly, space could be used against them for hostile purposes. There would have been a threat to America’s national security. According to President Johnson, "Other countries would line up with the country that seemed to be the leader” (Carlisle). After the moon landing, America was seen as the leader in space and science, thus the other countries held it in high prestige. They feared the United States because they were viewed as the most powerful nation. In his speech to congress, President John F. Kennedy claimed that "we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny" (Dunbar). This indicates that the space race was not only a competition between two countries; it was also a rivalry between two systems of government. The USSR was a socialist country at the time, and its government was oppressive to its people. Winning the space race allowed other countries to view the democracy of the United States as a success and follow their lead.
The space race was primarily a rivalry between two nations.

The United States and the Soviet Union wanted to prove that they were better than the other, and space happened to be their arena. However, without the two contenders, it would have taken much more time to get to the moon. According to Robert Reeves, "The primary mission was simply to get Americans on the moon and return them safely. Actual science on the moon was still a secondary objective. Without the specter of Russian competition to drive Apollo after the first manned landing in 1969, a fickle Congress and unsupportive White House canceled the final three of the planned Apollo landings.” This excerpt reveals that acquiring new information was not extremely important to the United States, and they just wanted to beat the USSR to the moon. If they did not have a competitor, then they would not bother to go. Reeves calls congress and the White House “fickle” and “unsupportive” of NASA’s primary scientific intentions. This was demonstrated after the race was won; the United States canceled the landings because space was not especially significant after the race was won. If they were actually concerned with science, they would have kept on exploring. Thus, the actions of United States leaders were carried out for the sole purpose of defeating the Soviet Union, and science was not extremely important to

them.
With the numerous advancements in technology during the space age, a robot would be able do same the job a human would on the moon, and it would probably acquire more information. However, this was out of the question. One author argues that "sending human beings to the moon was a distraction from more legitimate scientific and military goals of space exploration. Sending an unmanned probe to study the moon would be just as effective, and far less costly than sending a manned mission" (“Space Race”). Robots could never be American heroes, so an unmanned probe was not an option. They could have immensely lessened the cost and obtained more knowledge, but they were determined to triumph over the Soviet Union. They had to get an American to the moon because that was one of the conditions of the race set by the two countries. Furthermore, adding humans to the picture made the space equation much more complicated. Every capsule had to be able to support a human life. This includes clean air and water, restrooms, kitchens, and beds (Degroot). The fact that America had the option to immensely reduce the cost and acquire more knowledge from the moon landing displays how senseless its participation in the space race was. If American leaders truly wanted to follow through with their claims of scientific intentions, they would have cared less about the race between the two countries and more about the educational opportunities.
For the most part, the space race was superficial in intent. In his Rice University speech, President Kennedy said, “Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, ‘Because it is there.’ Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it” (Herbert). One can see how trivial the lunar race was from this quote. The moon became a Cold War target simply because it was there, not because they believed it would have more important effects (Degroot). The United States cared more about winning the Cold War than about space exploration. Gerard J. Degroot argues that “Putting men in space was an immensely expensive distraction of little scientific or cultural worth. The American people were persuaded to spend $35 billion on an ego trip to the Moon and then were told that a short step on the desolate lunar landscape was a giant leap for mankind.” This indicates that the United States cared only about proving itself to be stronger than the USSR. Degroot calls it an "ego trip,” which indicates that United States leaders wanted to feel more powerful than everyone else. He mockingly notes that the American people were "told that it was a giant leap for mankind" by Armstrong, even though it was not completed to its full potential or with the correct intentions. America went to the moon for no real reason other than to triumph over the Soviet Union, and this is shown through the triviality of the space race.
Advantages and improvements arose from the space race, but after examining the context, it is clear that they were not the primary intentions. The United States simply wanted to beat the Soviet Union to the moon, and they did everything that they could to accomplish this goal. One can see how current viewpoints of the intentions of the space race differ from the actual objectives of the lunar race. Nonetheless, America prevailed in the original Star Wars and is regarded as the strongest nation on earth as a result of the victory.