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United States vs Soviet Union Race to Space
United States vs Soviet Union Race to Space
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When no other country had accomplished space travel to the moon, the United States set the president by sending Apollo 11 on a space exploration. The United States was a front-runner in the race to land a man on the moon. Apollo 11 was launched into space in 1969 and was quite different from the Apollo 10. The successful lunar landing of Apollo 11 made the United States a respected and competitive player in space technology.
On July 16, 1969 a spacecraft named the Apollo 11 was sent into orbit by the United States to explore the moon. The three astronauts on board of the Apollo 11 were Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Before this flight, no other country had sent actual people to the moon. The United States would be the first country to accomplish a manned-space mission to land on the moon. (Brian Dunbar)
The Apollo 11 launched at exactly 9:32 a.m. Eastern Time on July 16, 1969. About 530 million people watched Armstrong on the televised broadcast and heard him say, "One small step for a man, and one giant leap for mankind" on July 20, 1969. (NASA)...
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.
Apollo 1, launched on 27 January 1967 – during pre-launch there was an on-board fire that killed the crew.
Dumoulin, Jim. "Apollo 11." Kennedy Space Center Launching A Vision. 12 Dec. 2001. 13 Dec. 2001 <http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/>.
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).
Are you focused on what you're doing and thinking during an emergency? Do you just give up if you’re stuck in a problem? In the Scholastic Scope article, “Disaster in Space,” it teaches us that in an emergency, we should remain calm and focused on the problem and to never give up, as the astronauts and engineers involved in the Apollo 13 mission did during an emergency on the spacecraft. These processes are exemplified in the Scholastic Scope article, “Disaster in Space” when it talks about how three astronauts handle an emergency that would have costed their lives. In conclusion, in the Scholastic Scope article, “Disaster in Space,” it teaches us that in an emergency, we should remain calm and focused on the problem, use our ingenuity, and never give up, as the astronauts and engineers involved in the Apollo 13 mission did during an emergency on the spacecraft.
Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crewmembers aboard the ship were James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr. Before the launch, there had been a few problems. Thomas K. Mattingly was supposed to fly on the Apollo 13 but he was exposed to the measles. He didn’t have the antibodies to fight the disease, causing him to not be able to go into space. Swigert took his place. Right before the launch, one of the technicians saw that the helium tank had a higher pressure than expected. Nothing was done to fix this. During liftoff, the second-stage engine shut down, causing the other engines to run longer than planned. Apollo 13 was off to a rocky start.
From countdown to splashdown, Apollo 11's mission was filled with some surprising twists and turns. It took a combination of luck, determination and guts for the crew of Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong to get the Eagle to the surface of the moon with only 30 seconds of fuel remaining! Experience the moments leading up to the lunar landing with me.
His name was Neil Armstrong and he was apart a three person crew on the mission Apollo 11. The other two men that were there was Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. All of them were were trained and had experience and they trained very long for this one mission. This one achievement led to a win of the Space Race for the US. The Apollo 11 crew was in space for 75 hours and 50 minutes. This was Nasa’s first manned mission to space. When Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon, He said these very famous words “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” -Neil
“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)
The United States lunar landing was one of the largest milestones in American history. John F. Kennedy was very influential in the lunar landing. Before the U.S reached the moon, they had to go through many obstacles. These obstacles not only made the U.S stronger, it made them more determined to get to the moon. The United State's main competitor in space travel was the Soviet Union. The race to space was a competition between the Soviets and the United States. The three main American missions were Project Mercury, The Gemini Project, and the Apollo Mission.
~Dunbar, Brian. "July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind." NASA. NASA, 19 July 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
The Soviet Union was able to launch their first satellite, Sputnik, and place the first human, Yuri Gagari, in space in 1961. This was a clear indication that the United States was losing the technological race for space superiority and needed to do something drastic to eclipse what the Soviets have done. This would lead up to a landmark speech on September 12th, 1962, by President John Franklin Kennedy where we, “choose to go to the moon.”
Neil Armstrong was the first person to ever land on the moon. Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, he graduated from college in 1955 and joined the NASA team. In 1962, he became the first civilian to enter into an astronaut training program. In 1969, Armstrong headed the Apollo 11 mission, becoing the first human being to set foot on the moon. Other astronauts the accompanied Armstrong on this mission were Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins. In 1971, Armstrong became a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
...erful for social objectives. Technology, especially in aerospace engineering and electronic communication, advanced greatly during this period. Today over a thousand artificial satellites orbit earth, relaying communications data around the planet and facilitating remote sensing of data. The moon landing stood for a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown. To win the Space Race we had to be the first to land a man on the moon and for that moment in the tumultuous 60’s, our country came together in celebration and pride. The citizens of the U.S made the journey possible; through their contributions to the space effort, or even if they just supported the effort they were helping the cause. John F. Kennedy requested, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” We responded, we prevailed, we triumphed.