Race to Space

America’s space program originally developed from the competition between the US and the Soviet Union. As a struggle for obtaining national pride, the US and the Soviet Union engaged in a space race competition to prove themselves as the most technologically advanced nation.
The US had a poor start in the space race, for on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. Sputnik traveled at 18,000 miles per hour, completing revolutions around the earth every 96 minutes. In light of this triumph of Soviet technology, the US worked hastily to complete their own space satellite; the first US satellite launch ended in failure, as the rocket collapsed onto the ground. However, the US was able to successfully launch its first satellite in January 31, 1958.
Reasons for the Soviet Union’s victory in the space race comes from the US’s reluctance to build missiles during the Cold War. At the time, the US government found research of missile production cost ineffective; considering how the current Air Force was already capable of dropping bombs, the need for missile research seemed unnecessary. As a result, the Soviet Union was more developed in missile research; because the mechanics of missile research was applied to the research of launching the first satellite into space, the Soviet Union gained an edge in satellite research, and was therefore able to launch Sputnik before the US could produce its first satellite.
Despite the Soviet Union’s victory in launching the first satellite into space, the true winner remains a debatable issue. The Soviet Union researchers believe they won the space race for a few reasons. In addition to the launch of Sputnik as the first satellite launched into to space, the Soviet Union—now Russia—believes that they won the space race for launching the first man into space. On April 12, 19621, Yuri Gargarin, a Soviet astronaut, became the first man to travel into space. In addition, the Soviet Union launched the first probe to land on the Moon. Luna 2, the first Soviet prove, landed on the Moon on September 13, 1959. On the contrary, the US saw themselves as the winners of the space race, for launching the first man into the Moon. The Apollo 11 mission ended with Neil Armstrong and his team landing on the moon on July 21st, 1969.
The Space Race was not only a great advancement in US and Soviet technology, but it was a significant aspect of the cultural competition held between the two countries. Although the true victor of the space race may be unclear, it is evident that this competition drove two successful nations to make great advancements astrophysics technology.


Written by: Marlin and Jason