5/21/2023 0 Comments Race into space both sidesIt was a terrific achievement that more than made up for the bad start in the Space Race. Over 300 million people around the world watched the event through their television screens. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon, on 21st July 1969. But to the amazement of the world, his prediction turned into reality in 1969. Some people were inspired by it while, to others, it was an empty promise that was just going to add to the long list of US embarrassments. ![]() The statement was a pretty daring one, especially at a time when the USA was being repeatedly humiliated by the Soviets in outer space. President John Kennedy famously predicted in 1961 that the Americans would put the first man on the moon before the end of the decade. The USA was lagging behind their communist rival in the Space Race and they were going to have to take the initiative soon.Īlan Shepard, first American man in space. The Americans put their own man in space a year later. Then, in 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. This was another embarrassing blow to the USA and showed to the world again how technologically advanced their country was. On the 4th November 1957, a dog named Laika paved the way for man to enter space, which eventually happened on the 12th April 1961, when the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth, in the Vostok I spaceship. ![]() Thus the Soviet Union set the ground work for future spy satellite missions by the United States and within a few short years, Corona was born.įirst Man Enters Space Even though an aircraft could not cross the border of another nation, it was ok for a satellite to cross that line. While launching Explorer 1 the United States realized that what the Soviet Union did by deploying Sputnik 1 into orbit redefined the ability to cross another nations borders without provoking military escalation. This was called the "Sputnik Crisis".Īfter some embarrassing failures at trying to launch a rocket in Cape Canaveral, and after four months of waiting, the Americans finally managed to successfully launch their own satellite, Explorer 1. ![]() The event caused so much fear (Since in Soviet easily can replace the payload with warhead) and jealousy within the American public and government that the US government was forced to respond by revamping the whole education system and taking other desperate measures, in order to produce budding rocket scientists in the homeland. The Soviet Union kick-started the Space Race when they launched the first ever satellite, called Sputnik 1 into orbit, on October 4th 1957. Launch of Sputnik: The Space Race Begins In 1944, Hitler decided to unleash his "secret weapon" and thousands of these rockets were launched at south-east Britain causing a lot of damage both physically and mentally.īut as the war was drawing to a close Germany was being squeezed from the Allies on one side and the Soviets on the other, hundreds of V-1 and V-2 rockets, and their scientists were captured by both sides and transported back to the home countries where they were "encouraged" to work and share their knowledge with them. These were designed to carry 1000kg bombs over a long distance and were fired to a target where the bombs would explode on impact. The world's first rockets were the V-6 and V-8 rockets, made by German rocket scientists in 1942 during World War Two. 2 Launch of Sputnik: The Space Race Begins.
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