Works Cited

"The Cold War & Space Race." Web. 16 May 2010. .

"Locations: Space Race." Freebase - A Wealth of Free Data. Web. 16 May 2010. .

"Space Race Exhibition." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Web. 16 May 2010. .

"Space Race Funny Facts." Comedy Zone for Jokes, Funny Pictures, Cartoons and Stand Up Comedians. Web. 16 May 2010. .

"Space Race." Newseum | Washington, D.C.'s Most Interactive Museum. Web. 13 May 2010. .

"Timeline of Space Exploration." TheSpaceRace.com. Web. 16 May 2010. .

Interesting Facts & Why I Chose This Topic

Due to the curiosity of the US and USSR of space, many things had been excessively observed. For instance: Over 382 kg of rock samples were returned to the Earth by the Apollo and Luna programs. Also, there are many overlooked interesting facts that many people don't know.For example, the US spent billions of dollars of tax payers' money over the approximate 12 year duration of the space race. The first two animals in space were two mice. On an Apollo mission, a cockroach was deposited onto the moon, and was never found again (www.comedy-zone.net).
Basically, I chose this topic because I am very interested in space. I feel that the space race is the founder of modern day space studies and therefore i figured it would be something worth learning about. Also, when I learned that the whole race was tied into the Cold War it made it more appealing to me because i didn't understand much about the War. Therefore, the space race was an eventful, history-making part of world history that i find interesting.

Importance

The race to space was more than just a competition between two countries. This epic event signified the next step of all mankind. This also served as a milestone to science and the emergence of significant technology. Behind closed doors, the race was an emergence from the Cold War between the US and USSR. Although the race only heated tension between the two countries, it also showed them how much more they could accomplish with each others' help. Also, the two countries opened the door to many modern-day conveniences such as weather prediction, satellite TV and radio, and much more (www.nasm.si.edu). The end of the space race brought about both more tension and more ease between the US and the USSR. Soon after in 1972 the two signed a treaty limiting each other from strategic offensive weapons. Next to follow, another treaty was signed to limit strategic defensive systems (www.vibrationdata.com/SpaceRace.htm). Although even after these agreements were made the war didn't end for a few more years, the space race served as both an opening and closing gate to the Cold War.

Location

Obviously, the space race was solely between the two world powers of that time period, the U.S. and Soviet Union. Ironically, these two countries were very contradicting of each other. For both being world powers one would expect many similarities in government and lifestyle. However this was not the case. The U.S. was just coming off of an accomplished victory in WWII and was sitting high and mighty. The democracy government had proven to make this country fair and peaceful. On the other hand, the Soviet Union had also been coming off of a successful WWII and were coasting with power. However, the government did not run things as fair as the U.S. The Soviet Union's Socialist government was very people-controlling and demanding. Although the two are complete opposites, both in government ideals and in location, both countries did what had to be done to become strong world powers. Thus these two have gone down in history as the space revolutionary countries (www.freebase.com).

History

The space race officially took off on October 4, of 1957. At this time, the USSR (Russia) launched Sputnik 1, making them the first country in space. The Russians followed it up in November by launching the first living being into outer space, a dog named Laika, on Sputnik 2. The Americans had fallen behind but were by no means out of the race. On January 31st, 1958 the U.S. launched their first satellite into orbit: Explorer 1. These were the early significant events that were repeated several times before more risky operations were attempted. However, in October of 1958 NASA was created, leaping the race to a whole new level. On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin from the USSR becomes the first man in space and orbits the earth once. Soon after on May 5, Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space. On February 3rd, 1966 Luna 1 from the USSR, becomes the first aircraft to land on the moon. Finally, on July 20, 1969, the U.S. wins the space race putting the first men on the moon: Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin (www.thespacerace.com/timeline/).

Background Information

The "Space Race" is indeed what it sounds: a heated competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to get to the great beyond. For centuries many have pondered the existence of anything outside of Earth. In the 1950's, two powerhouse nations took one big swing at the curve ball better known as space. For over a decade, the U.S. and Soviet Union went stride for stride with each other, attempting to pop the space bubble first. Great expense in these economically thriving time periods helped propel the way to victories for both countries in different areas. The ultimate goal was to land on the moon first. The Soviet Union took an early jump, becoming the first nation in space. Soon after, the U.S. took the gold by putting the first men on the moon. This event was an enormous media frenzy, watched by people all over the globe. Thus, the U.S. had won the space race by being the first nation to the moon (www.newseum.com).