Sputnik was an artificial satellite; it was a steel sphere approximately 84kg and the size of a beach ball that sent a signal of beep beep beep that could be heard on a ham radio (Irvine 2006, para 24). The Sputnik launch into space was a very important historical event because it led to the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration otherwise famously known as NASA. In July 1958 the USA passed the National Aeronautics and Space act called the “Space Act” in which NASA was officially created on October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) (NASA 2007, para 7) The Americans had someone to rely on to defeat the Soviet Union.
There were continued interests in the space program which led to formations of Space Agencies. During the time of formation of Space Agencies there was a war going on, this war was not like the normal wars fought on the battle field, this war was being fought at a whole new level, it was more of an Ideological war and there was a battle for Military Supremacy, it was later dubbed the Cold War. Had the Cold War turned hot the battle grounds would have been set internationally and the weapons of choice would have been intercontinental Ballistic missiles due to the military’s involvement, so there was a strong military connection between the nuclear arms race and the Space Race (Anissimov, M 2010, Para 3). Both the Superpowers were so strong that they had the ability to destroy each other’s country easily.
As technology advanced so did the space programs and society. The Soviets built a wall for Germany and it became a symbol of Soviet repression, Soon the Soviet were seen as juggling space technology in one hand and Soviet policy in the other (Cadbury 2006, p. 260). Shortly after Sputnik 1 was launched, Sputnik 2 was up and running and was launched into space in 1957 by the USSR. The Americans needed a solution fast because a capitalist society was starting to fall behind the Communists.
The American Solution was to put the navy and US Army in charge until NASA was up and running. The US Army and Navy had ballistic missile projects in process, and each very much wanted to be the first to put an American made satellite in orbit. The Navy was first to be given the chance on December 6, 1957 to put a satellite into space, they failed terribly as their rocket the Vanguard TV-3 blew up on the launch pad. The Americans then scrambled and quickly assembled the next rocket to launch into space (NASA n.d., para 2). The Space program quickly turned to the US Army for a solution and catch up with the space race. Their solution was a modified Redstone ballistic missile which was to carry a satellite named Explorer 1. On January 31, 1958 there was a successful launch of the Explorer 1 satellite into space. Explorer 1 was a bit smaller than Sputnik and its orbit was higher than Sputniks. The American people started to have hope in their country.
After the successful launches by the United States in response to the USSR the United States was starting to close the gap between the space races. America had launched 3 explorers and the USSR had launched 3 Sputniks, However the Russians had already claimed first launch and put the first living mammal into space, from here it seemed that a Communists Society was still overtaking the Capitalists society. The Russians continued the Space Race by putting Yuri Gagarin the first manned space flight on April 12, 1961 (Long 2007, para1). A month later the Americans responded by later putting Alan Shepard who became the first American on May 5, 1961 in space (Long 2007, para 4). After Alan Shepard the Americans later put Astronaut John Glenn into space and he became the first American to orbit the planet earth on February 29, 1962 he instantly became a role model to young American boys (Cadbury 2006, p. 197) In 1961, the Americans went one step further than the Soviets, U.S President John Kennedy said that the USA should put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. This was achieved in 1969 largely putting an end to the Space Race. From that onwards it was proof that a Capitalists Society was more advanced than a Communists society.
The Soviets denied they had plans of putting humans onto the moon, however historical evidence suggests they had Luna launches that proved they indeed had an interest in the moon. On September 13, 1959, Luna 2 crashed on the moon leaving behind scientific instruments and Soviet pennants. On October 4, 1959 Luna 3 was launched and set to orbit the moon to photograph seventy percent of the far side of the moon. The Soviets wished to continue the space program in a peaceful manner after the speech by Mikhail Gorbachev “Space must remain peaceful; strike weapons must not be deployed there”(Rayner 1992, p. 81).The most historical event was of Neil Armstrong and his crew of Apollo 9 who reached the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. This single event was the most significant event for America allowing them to win the space race because they achieved their important goal of putting the first man on the moon (Long 2007, para 1). The Race to the moon became a defining part of the struggle for global supremacy. Victory in this race meant more than just collecting moon rocks or planting flags. The Space race became an open contest between Capitalism and Communism. Victory was not just a matter of pride. National security and global stability were at stake. (Cadbury 2006, p. 9)
In conclusion it was hard to tell which country was leading ahead in the Space Race at some points in time, each country achieved historical discoveries. However the landing on the moon was really the main event that set the finish line for the space race. Once landing and walking on the moon was achieved there was little else to do with the current technology that they had during that time. The cold war was still going on but the Space Race had ended part of what the Cold War was about which was the rivalry and conflict of super powers, Ideological philosophies and military supremacy. The cold war ended later when the Soviets ceased to be a Superpower and the United States became winner by showing their military supremacy. The Space program still is very important today and still is continuing to this day. Both the Soviet and the United States now have a joint space programs and are helping each other out in a peaceful manner.
References:
Anissimov, M 2010, What was the space race? Retrieved September 11, 2010, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-space-race.htm
Cadbury, D 2006, Space Race The battle to rule the heavens, Harper Perennial, London
Irvine, T 2006, The cold war and space race era. Retrieved September 11, 2010, from http://www.vibrationdata.com/SpaceRace.htm
Long, T 2007, April 12 1961: Russia Wins Race, put first man in space. Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://www.wired.com/Science/discoveries/news/2007/04/dayintech_0412
Long, T 2007, July 20,1969: One small step...One giant leap.... Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/07/dayintech_0720
NASA n.d., Explorer-1 and Jupiter C . Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/expinfo.html
NASA n.d., Luna 2. Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-014A
NASA n.d., Luna 3. Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=1959-008A
NASA 2007, Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space Age. Retrieved from http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/
NASA n.d., Vanguard-A history, Success-and after. Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4202/toc2.html
Rayner, E.G 1992, The Cold War, Hodder and Stoughton Educational, London
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 2002, Space race. Retrieved September 11, 2010, from http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal114/gal114.thm
