Spacecraft During The Cold War Essay

Spacecraft Development During the Cold War

The Cold War was never a very violent conflict; hence the word ‘cold’. Though the two primary combatants were the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Special Republics (USSR or Russia), countries such as Korea, Afghanistan and Vietnam were far more affected in terms of war; but these conflicts were abetted by the US and USSR. Russia and America were initially rivals as they differed in terms of government methods; USSR was socialist and the US capitalist. During the Cold War, both countries expressed conflict through espionage, coalitions, a nuclear arms race and technological competitions; from one of which the Space Race was born.

Officially, the Space Race began on August 2nd, 1955, and culminated in the landing on the moon by the US.

The Space Race can trace its origins back to the missile-based arms race that began in the wake of World War Two. Countries all around the world participated in the race for ballistic missile supremacy but the two main competitors were, once again, the former allies Russia and America.

During WW2,

Though he had been advised the mission would probably fail should he not postpone the launch date, it was actually exceedingly successful. On October 4th, 1957, the Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite placed in Earth’s orbit. In the wake of this Soviet success, America pushed forward the launch date of its own AS, but it was a ‘monumental’ failure. During its live national broadcast, the Project Vanguard rocket blew up seconds after launch and became an international joke. It’s failure hastened Von Braun’s Redstone team plans to launch their Jupiter-C rocket. Four months after Sputnik 1’s launch and under the ‘civilian’ name Juno 1 the Explorer 1 became the first successful American AS in