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Cold war arms race narrative account full marks
Arms race cold war
The space race
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The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States of America for technology on space that happened from 1955-1972. This competition caused many amazing things: The first object in space, the first man in space, and the first man on the moon. The Space Race had started in the Cold War, an Arms’ Race between the U. S and the USSR. 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. The second “round”, to get humans into space, was also “won” by the Sovi...
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 in the American public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s. This opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations. After World War II, the Cold War created tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States leading to extreme national pride and competition, culminating in the space race which began with the launch of Sputnik 1.
The 1960’s were full of questions, and one of the biggest questions the world was pondering about was regarding the Space Race: was the USA going to beat their communist enemy, the Soviet Union? The Space Race was a series of events that helped to symbolize and determine in the worlds’ eyes which form of government was better, communism (Soviets) or democracy (United States)? In the beginning of the race, the Soviets had the lead, and it was not looking good for America. Then the United States picked up the pace and spent well over eight billion dollars funding the space studies. This period of time made many scientists and astronauts heroes in the eyes of Americans. The Space Race was a combination of determination, intelligence, space projects, and American pride, all used to reach our exploration goals and surpass the Soviets.
At the end of WWII in 1945, the USA and the Soviet Union emerged as the world’s superpowers. This was a time of great tension, rivalry and distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a time of political, diplomatic, military and economic rivalry where both nations wanted to emerge as the world’s new superpower. Hence, the Cold War would be of profound significance in the development of the space race as the space race was a key element in the rivalry of political, economic and social dominance.
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...
The Americans took a much more urgent approach after seeing what the U.S.S.R. was truly capable of. The United States would respond with various satellites including those of the Explorer Series and more. However, the Soviet Union would again one-up the United States, and all of their now seemingly feeble satellite launches, by putting the first man into outer space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Now the quest gained an even more competitive drive and the United States soon put Alan B. Shepard into space twenty-three days later. The Space Race was truly a trek for the firsts of history, essentially just exterrestrial one-ups throughout an extended period of time. That very same year, John F. Kennedy founded NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, just for that purpose, to explore the world beyond their own, while maintaining the central aim, to beat the Soviets outright. JFK was a leading power in this race, and “by giving NASA programs top priority, his actions essentially played on American fears of communism and implicitly inferred that the Eisenhower administration had not done enough to meet the Sputnik challenge. Too many Americans were beginning to feel a need to vindicate the ‘long-standing communist boast that theirs was the superior system for galvanizing human productivity’” (Koman 43). Winning this space race was way more than just an extraterrestrial victory, it would hopefully squander the communists’ hopes and assert true American dominance. The United States sought to eliminate any presumption of communist superiority and did so in the near future by winning this Cold War space race, thanks to the execution of a truly unimaginable
In 1957 the Soviets used a missile to launch a satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around the earth. The arms race then became a space race as the United States rushed to launch its own satellites, some for military purposes.
After World War II both the United States and the Soviet Union realized how important rocket research would be to the military. So they each hired the top rocket scientists from Germany to help with their research. After they hired them both sides were making a lot of progress. The Space Race began in 1955 when the Americans announced that they would start launching satellites into orbit. The Soviets took the US announcement as a challenge and established a group whose goal was to beat the US in putting a satellite into orbit. Even though the United States started the competition the Soviets still won because they launched the first successful satellite into orbit, put a dog into outer space and also put the first man into outer space. Some might say that the United States won because they put the first man on the moon, which was a huge feat made by the Americans. So for winning many missions against the U.S. the Soviets won the Space Race.
History.com says the USSR launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, on October 4th, 1957. This started the Space Race because the U.S. and USSR always wanted to be ahead of each other. In 1958, the US launched Explorer I and created NASA. In the following year the USSR launched the first space probe to hit the moon. The American Museum of Natural History says that in 1949, the United States was the only country with nuclear weapons.
After a long, and devastating second world war, a new conflict had arisen: The Cold War. This new uprising battle, countered the two most dominant countries: The democratic, capitalist country, The United States and the Communist country, The Soviet Union. Along with new war conditions, came the new competition, the Space Race. In 1957, the Space Race began. It fueled another dramatic competition between The United States and The Soviet Union; proving their developed technology and military fire power was the most superior.
The space race was the product of the Cold War. It was an effort to prove technological superiority but on the other hand, it was also feared on both sides that weapons of mass destruction will be placed in orbit. In 1957, the Soviet Union sent the 184 pound Sputnik 1 satellite into Earth’s orbit. It was the first artificial satellite and the first manmade object to be placed into Earth’s orbit. Following that, they also sent the first animal into space, Laika the dog. In 1958, the United Sates also launched their first satellite into orbit, dubbed Explorer 1. The Soviet space program advanced once again in 1959. The Soviet Union launched Luna 2, which was the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet Union had the ultimate success, sending the first human into space. The name of the Russian cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin, who made a 108 minute suborbital flight in a Vostok 1 spacecraft. One month after that, Alan Shepard became the American in space aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Continuing from there, each nation step...
This was cause for widespread of fear in America. This primarily came from the stunning ability of the R-7 missile which seemed to be able to deliver a nuclear payload anywhere on earth from Russia. This was the catalyst for the beginning of the space race. America quickly launched the Explorer I in 1958. Shortly after this, President Dwight Eisenhower launched the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This was an entire federal agency that was devoted to space travel and any goal relevant to space. This was not the only program placed to ensure America’s place in space, but the Soviet Union still put the first man into space in 1961. America put a man into space in the same year. Before John F. Kennedy’s assassination, he made a public claim that America would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The promise came true in 1969, when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon while participating in the Apollo 11 mission. This was the milestone that effectively won the space race for
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.
When the space race began in the 1900s, the United States of America was competing against Russia to excel in space exploration. They wanted to be the first to fly in space, first people in space, and especially first to go to the moon. The man that achieved this was Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. He is honored and remembered by this legendary space walk but many people overlook his many other important life achievements.
Germany’s attempts made little to no history, but the United States and Russia got involved in what we know today as “The Space Race.” Each country trying to be the first to go into space, have a man orbiting Earth, and get on the moon. Russia struck first with Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to go into space, intentionally. The United States played catch up and one year later sent Explorer 1. The Russians were also the first to have a man go into space, Lt.
Since the early 1960s, humans have been venturing beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, a few times as far as the moon, a quarter of a million miles away. NASA currently plans to return humans to the moon by 2020 and plans Mars missions after that. Much criticism has been leveled at the entire idea of manned spaceflight, claiming that unmanned craft can do essentially all of the jobs people can do with less cost and less risk. There are of course two sides to the situation. The idea for space exploration and those against it.