Hemauer 1 Sean Hemauer Professor Sielaff History (NHD) 3 February 2013 The Space Race But why, some

say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon! We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too (Kennedy, 1962). The space race was a decade-long competition amongst the Soviet Union and the United States for the ultimate goal of reaching the moon before the other. It was symbolic of superiority of that country. This all happened during the Cold War, which was political and military turmoil and tension between the USSR and the United States. The completion and success of the space race during the Cold War defined the difference between free market capitalism (the United States) as opposed to communism (Soviet Union), which is essentially government centralized planning, eventually led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. The origins of the space race go all the way back to the end of World War II. "The next war will not start with a naval action nor...by aircraft flown by human beings. It might very well start with missiles being dropped on the capital of a country, say Washington...." (Gen. Henry H. Arnold, 1945) The missile-based Cold War arms race after WWII occurred when the U.S. and the USSR tried to capture Nazi rocket technology and scientists in that field. The cold war

Hemauer 2 would become the great engine, the supreme catalyst, that sent rockets and their cargoes far above Earth and worlds away. If Tsiolkovsky, Oberth, Goddard, and others were the fathers of rocketry, the competition between capitalism and communism was its midwife (Burrows 147). By the late 1950s and 1960s, the space race was in full gear. In 1958, Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, was launched. This caused debate over what should be the United States next move, which eventually led to their decision to launch their own satellite. On 6 December 1957, the United States launched the Vanguard TV3, but it ended in failure when there was thought to be low fuel tank pressure. Two months later, the U.S. launched Juno 1, carrying their first satellite, Explorer 1, into Earth-orbit. The competition amongst the satellite launches led to the race to put the first human in space. On 12 April 1961, the Vostok 1, carrying Yuri Gagarin, was the first human spaceflight in history, completed by the Soviet Union. Three weeks later, the U.S. followed by launching the Freedom 7 with Alan Shepard. Even though he did not attain orbit, he was the first person to manually control his spacecrafts attitude and retro-rocket firing. Nearly a year after the USSR put a human into orbit, the Americans finally succeeded with astronaut John Glenn. On 25 May 1961, Kennedy publicized support for the Apollo program. I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth (Kennedy, 1961). In March of 1965, Soviet Union cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk. Two months later, astronaut Ed White did the same. During this time, the Gemini program started, and Gus Grissom and John Young flew the first flight. The objective of the Gemini program was to help prepare for the Apollo program that would succeed it. Two years later, the Apollo program was in full swing. On January 27th, 1967, there was a fatal accident with Apollo 1 while testing on the launch pad. All three crew members perished. But the U.S. had to

Hemauer 3 overcome this, and they did. Nearly two years later on Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 traveled near the Moon. The crew read from the Book of Gemini, as people tuned in around the world. On July 20th of 1969, the U.S. won the space race by landing Apollo 11 successfully on the Moon. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, followed shortly by Buzz Aldrin, said a famous quote as he stepped on the Moon. Thats one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind (Armstrong, 1969). Michael Collins flew the command module above the Moon, waiting for them. They landed in an area referred to as the Sea of Tranquility. The success of Apollo 11 was the culmination of the hopes and aspirations of President Kennedy. The legacy of the space race will resonate in our hearts for centuries to come. Advances in technology and education were the result of increased funding for these pursuits, which was direct result of the space race. In this century, there are hundreds upon hundreds of satellites orbiting our Earth collecting vital data and information on everything from weather to human activities. The environmental movement was also a result of the space race. The origins of the space race were a direct result of the Cold War rivalry, and the arms race that occurred at the end of World War II. The ensuing competition between the Soviet Union and the U.S. led to major technological changes as it related to space exploration and research. During the space race, everyone wanted to one-up the other and competition was fierce. Many young space enthusiasts wanted to become astronauts so they could fly into space and land on the Moon. Only a few people were chosen for this mighty responsibility, and they all did great. The United States was the only country in the world to have a manned spacecraft reach the Moon. This was a turning point in history because there was more investment in education and research than ever before, which led to huge advancements in science.

Hemauer 4 Works Cited 1. Kennedy, John F. Address. Moon Speech. Rice Stadium, Houston, TX. 12 September 1962. 2. Gen. Henry H. Arnold. Military Origins of the Space Race. National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution, Web. 26 February 2013. <http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/gal114/SpaceRace/sec200/sec200.htm> 3. Burrows, William E. This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age. New York: Random House, 1998. Print. 4. Kennedy, John F. Special Message to the Congress. Urgent Nation Needs. Joint Session of Congress, Washington D.C. 12 September 1961. 5. "Neil Armstrong." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2013. Web. 26 February 2013. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/neilarmstr101137.html> 6. Space Race Exhibition. National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution, Web. 26 February 2013. < http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/gal114/gal114.htm> 7. The Space Race. History, Web. 26 February 2013. <http://www.history.com/topics/space-race> 8. The Space Race. Nebraskastudies.org, Web. 26 February 2013. <http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0900/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.o rg/0900/stories/0901_0105.html> 9. Timeline of Space Exploration thespacerace.com. Web. 26 February 2013. <http://www.thespacerace.com/timeline/> 10. Freudenrich, Craig. How the Space Race Worked. How Stuff Works. Discovery, Web. 26 February 2013. < http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-race.htm>