US+Race+to+the+Moon

U.S. RACE TO THE MOON //"That's one small step for [a] man,// //one giant leap for mankind." -Neil Armstrong//



Overview; The Space Race

The bitter battle between the Soviet Union and the United States began in October, 1957; with its launch of artificial satellite //Sputnik 1,// the Soviet Union became the first country to send an object into earth orbit. Between 1957 and 1975, the Cold War sparked a rivalry between the two nations, with focus on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as imperative for national security and symbolic of technological superiority and power. This intense competition for supremacy in space exploration became known as the Space Race. Its origins can be traced back as far back as the 1930s, when Germany developed the world's first long-range guided missiles during World War II (1939-45). When the war was over and Germany was defeated, the United States recruited its rocket scientists to help establish the U.S. missile program. Previously strained tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union began to escalate as their rivalry grew, resulting in the Cold War (1945-91). The Space Race involved efforts to launch artificial satellites, sub-orbital human spaceflight around the Earth, and piloted voyages to the Moon. The ultimate goal, however, was to become the first country in history to put a man on the moon. The U.S. began to step-up its efforts, with the ultimate ambition of reaching the moon.

** //Early Efforts// **

With the launch of Sputnik 1, U.S. citizens were filled with fear and paranoia; the thought of a constantly orbiting object belonging to the Soviet Union could be detrimental to the outcome of the Cold War, as well as the fate of the United States. After a second satellite was launched by the USSR, Americans felt extremely vulnerable and threatened. In December of 1957, the U.S. demonstrated its first attempt to launch an orbiting satellite, only to end in the explosion of the missile in liftoff. Despite American embarrassment, //Explorer 1// was successfully launched one month later. The Soviet Union continued to reach firsts in space exploration over United States, leading the U.S. to heighten its efforts.

//National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA)//

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 was signed on January 31st by President Dwight Eisenhower, establishing NASA. The agency commenced the nation's civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research, taking over the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (formed in 1915). The program would also lead space exploration efforts such as the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. The first three major programs created by NASA were Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo; all three furthered American success in space exploration, while bringing the U.S. closer to moon-domination. Project Mercury, the NASA's first major program, was developed in order to attain technology required for space exploration, as well as testing human abilities in space. Running from 1959 through 1963, its initial goal was to put a human in orbit around the Earth before the Soviet Union. Although the Soviet Union achieved this mission a month earlier, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, receiving national attention, on May 1961. In February of 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. The program included 20 unmanned launches, followed by two suborbital and four orbital flights with astronaut pilots. NASA, and the seven original astronauts, were glorified by the American public, receiving tremendous attention and praise. While impressed, President John F. Kennedy knew America's efforts towards space domination had to be intensified in order to win the Space Race.

The second program, Project Gemini, had several major objectives, including the demonstration of human endurance and equipment required for a Moon landing, to demonstrate Extra-Vehicular Activity, or space-walks outside the spacecraft, to perfect techniques of atmospheric reentry, and to provide astronauts with zero-gravity and docking experience needed for Moon landings. Between 1965 and 1966, ten manned flights were conducted by Project Gemini. The larger and more advanced Gemini spacecraft allowed astronauts to practice maneuvers that would be essential in the Apollo program. With all the progress being made in a short amount of time, it was easy for the public to see where NASA was headed.

With Kennedy strongly supporting NASA, Congress quickly approved the newest major program: Project Apollo. Kennedy's dramatic goal of reaching the moon excited NASA, as well as the American public. Running from 1961 to 1972, Project Apollo's ultimate mission was to put a man on the Moon. This goal was finally accomplished on July 20, 1969 when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon's surface. Five subsequent missions (Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) also went on to land on the moon. These missions focused on studying a number of things, including soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind.



** //President John F. Kennedy// ** Realizing the importance of rallying the nation behind a common cause, John F. Kennedy chose to focus on America's race to the Moon. Public morale at the time was defeated; as the fear of Communism spread through the country, the American people needed something of importance to take their minds off of their horror. To boost public morale and spark nationalism, President Kennedy addressed Congress on May 25, 1961, promising that the United States would be the first nation to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. His powerful, eloquent speaking impacted Americans of all ages, especially moving younger generations. The public responded extremely positively, especially knowing that the Soviet Union, at the time, was currently ahead of the United States in the Space Race. The timing of his promise made his efforts much more significant, as his announcement came at such a crucial time in U.S. history.

QUOTES "It will not be one man going to the Moon—if we make this judgement affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there." //With this one quote, Kennedy turned the government's mission to put an American on the Moon into a public affair. Every American could now feel involved in their country's efforts, which would urge them to support.//

"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." //In one of his most famous quotes, Kennedy emphasizes the importance and difficulty of the country's ultimate goal. Americans took pride in this fact, believing that their country would one day make history.//

"No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." //This sparked pride in the American public, as well as nationalism, when Kennedy explained the government's "impressive" attempts to explore the unknown.//



**__T i m e l i n e__** **1957** -October 4: Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1 into earth orbit. -October 5: Headlines and major stories reach British and American newspapers. -November 3: Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 into orbit with a female dog, Laika, on board. Reports indicate that Laika died soon after liftoff, due to stress and high temperatures inside the capsule. **1958** -January 31: Explorer 1, the first American satellite, enters orbit around Earth.July: The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 is signed by President Dwight Eisenhower, establishing NASA. -December 6: Pioneer 3, an American unmanned satellite, fails to reach the moon, but discovers a second radiation belt around the Earth. **1959** -January: Luna 1, launched from the Soviet Union towards the moon, misses its target. -March 3: The U.S. sends the unmanned Pioneer 4 to the moon in the first American lunar flyby. -April 9: The newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration introduces the first seven astronauts to the world. Without yet performing a task, they are instantly hailed and embraced as heroes by the American public. -May 28: NASA launches two monkeys from Cape Canaveral and successfully recovers them in the Atlantic Ocean.September: The Soviets' Luna 2 successfully crash-lands on the moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach another planetary body. -October: Luna 3 flies around the moon, taking the first photographs of the far side of the moon. **1961** -January 31: Ham, a chimpanzee, survives a sub-orbital flight on an American mission, Mercury 2. -April 12: Vostok 1 carries Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit; he is the first human in space. -May 2: Alan Shepard commands Freedom 7 on the first Mercury mission, becoming the first American in space. His ballistic trajectory during the 15-minute flight takes him to a maximum height of 116.5 statute miles. -May 25: President John F. Kennedy, in his first State of the Union address, accelerates the space program and sets as a goal a moon landing within the decade. -September 12: President Kennedy gives a speech at Rice University, future home of the Manned Spacecraft Center (which later will be renamed Johnson Space Center) **1962** -February 20: John Glenn orbits the Earth three times, becoming the first American in orbit. **1963** -June 6:A Russian, Valentina Tereshkova, becomes the first woman in space. The American program, which has drawn astronauts from active duty military pilots, employs no female astronauts. **1965** -June 3-7: On Gemini 4, Edward White II exits his vehicle and performs the first American space walk. **1996** -March 16: Americans Neil Armstrong and David Scott couple Gemini 8 to an unmanned Agena vehicle, docking two spacecraft together for the first time. Shortly after this feat, Gemini 8 experiences a stuck thruster, causing the craft to tumble wildly, and the rest of the mission is aborted. -March 31: Luna 10 launches from the Soviet Union, becoming the first unmanned probe to achieve lunar orbit, and send information about the moon back to earth. -May 30: The unmanned American Surveyor 1 craft lands on the moon and transmits photographs and other data back to Earth **1967** -January 27: A fire during routine testing of the Apollo spacecraft kills three astronauts -- Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chafee -- in their capsule. The Russians send their condolences to the families of the astronauts. **1969** -July 16: Apollo 11 begins its mission to the moon. -July 20: Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon. -July 24: Apollo 11 returns to earth safely.

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S i g n i f i c a n c e

As the country impatiently waited for a victory in space exploration, U.S. support from the public was at an all-time high. This movement sparked Nationalism, which was imperative during the Cold War rivalry. As the fear of Communism spread rapidly through the country, the Space Race became an interesting occupation to calm the panic that was taking the nation by storm. In order to win the war against Communism, the U.S. needed public support. The Space Race intensified the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, at an entertaining level that captured, and held, the attention of the public.

The significance of NASA and its programs became tremendous; NASA became iconic, as well as a household name. Children and adolescence dreamed of one day becoming astronauts, and many family conversations would be centered around the idea of space exploration. NASA's efforts became not only a government affair, but a spectacle that the public could watch unfold; during the first moon landing in 1969, most Americans were glued to their TV sets in awe, watching as their country changed history books forever.

The efforts of President John F. Kennedy became crucial in the Unites States' race to the Moon; without his encouragement and inspiring words, the public would not have felt as involved in the efforts to become the number one nation in extra-terrestrial exploration. He managed to turn a governmental affair into a public spectacle, raising American patriotism and public morale. The timing of his promise made his efforts much more significant, as his announcement came at such a crucial time in U.S. history.

Finally landing an American on the moon became tremendously significant, as well. Although the U.S. was losing to the Soviet Union for most of the Space Race, their ultimately victory put the United States back on top. The entire country exploded with nationalism, and pride for the United States.

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I m p a c t

The impact of the Space Race, as well as the Moon landing, is still present today. The competition sparked interest and financial increases in space exploration, which would have never been achieved without an enemy to beat. Scientific advancements made in that time has not been paralleled even today, yet it still affects us on a number of levels; the exploration of space is still expanding, with more research, and the building of space stations. New research and projects include possible solutions to today's problems, including overpopulation and limited resources. The technology invented during the Space Race would be influential for decades to come.



__Works Cited__

Braun, Werner, and Frederick Ordway. //History of Rocketry & Space Travel//. 1st. 1. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 222. Print.

Tobias, Russel, and David Fisher. //USA in Space//. 3rd. 1. Pasadena: Salem Press, Inc., 678. Print.

Byrnes, Mark E. "National Aeronautics and Space Administration." //Dictionary of American History//. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 523-524. //Gale U.S. History In Context//. Web. 27 Apr. 2012.

//"John F. Kennedy."// Space Exploration Reference Library//. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker, et al. Vol. 4: Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2005. 50-59.// Gale U.S. History In Context//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.//

//"NASA- Project Mercury."// www.nasa.gov//. nasa.gov, 16 Nov 2007. Web. 30 Apr 2012. .//

//"NASA- Apollo."// www.nasa.gov//. nasa.gov, 20 Jul 2011. Web. 30 Apr 2012. .//

//"The Space Race."// www.nebraskastudies.org//. nebraskastudies.org, 2012. Web. 26 Apr 2012. .//