THE SPACE RACE

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does the space race relate to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union?

• The Space Race was a 20th century competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for supremacy in spaceflight capability.

• Remember….Everything during the Cold War was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.

• How and why?

WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE SPACE RACE

• The space race had its roots in military and scientific uses.

• Before Sputnik was launched, the United States and Soviet Union had plans for having spy satellites.

WHY EVEN CARE ABOUT OUTER SPACE?!

• October 4, 1957- Soviet scientists launched the world’s first space satellite- SPUTNIK.

• How did Americans feel?!

• Surprised and Frightened.

• Why?

• Soviet Union had nuclear weapons and could put a satellite orbiting in space.

WHEN DID IT START?

• April 12th, 1961- Soviet Union launches the first spacecraft into orbit- VOSTOK

• Soviet Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space.

• Soviet Union now has successfully launched the first satellite and spacecraft.

SOVIET UNION WINNING THE SPACE RACE

• President John F. Kennedy promised that the United States would have a man on the moon before the 1960s were over.

• Invested billions of dollars into the space program.

THE UNITED STATES REACTS

• May 5th- 1961 Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.

• About one month after Yuri Gagarin orbits the earth.

AMERICANS GAIN SOME GROUND

• February 20th, 1962- John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth.

ORBITING THE EARTH- MERICAN STYLE

• Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon while Pilot Michael Collins orbits around the Moon.

• “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

• https://youtu.be/_3vVjyqkwrw

JULY 20TH 1969

• Fueled hostilities between the United States and the Soviet Union…

• The rush to technology also led to many deaths….

• January 27th, 1967- Three astronauts of Apollo 1 die in a fire during a ground test.

DID THE SPACE RACE COST ANYTHING?

• Technology advanced greatly during this period.

• Space race also changed the way students learned. (focus on mathematics and physical science)

• Today, thousands of satellites are orbiting Earth relaying communications data across the planet.

WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF THE SPACE RACE