space race

• Space Race: How did it develop during WW2

  Both US and USSR began building rockets to use as long range weapons in the years immediately after WW2. However the race to build rockets for defence soon turned into a race to build missiles for space exploration as well
• Timeline of Space Race

  1 - WW2: German scientists developed powerful rockets like the V2

  2 - 1955: Eisenhower announced a programme to develop a man made satellite

  3 - Oct 1957: Soviets shocked Americans by sending one of their rockets into space and a man made satellite called Sputnik

  4 - Nov 1957 - USSR launched Sputnik II

  5 - Jan 1958: US investment was paying off, Americans launched Explorer I satellite

  6 - July 1958 - US Congress approved NASA

  7 - 12th April 1961 - Soviet's Vostor Rocket programme sent Major Yun Gragarin of the Red Army to become the 1st human in space.
• Timeline of Space Race (2):

  8 - 1961 to 1975: US responded with Apollo manned space programme

  9 - July 1969: Commander Neil Armstrong landed on the moon

  10 - 15th of July 1975: 1st joint space mission - Apollo Soyuz (was a symbol of power and a symbol of a new age of cooperation between the superpowers)
• Why did the superpowers invest so much money and time into the space race

  Cold War rivalry: best political system=best technology

  Powerful propaganda tool

  Same technology used to build missiles for nuclear weapons - Soviet leader Khrushchev

  Competition for global prestige and influence

  For scientific and technological advancements

  Military implications: rockets can also be used for intercontinental ballistic missiles which can carry nuclear warheads
• How did the Space Race escalate the war?

  The launch of Sputnik served to intensify the arms race and raise cold war tensions as it showed the world which country had the best science, technology and economic system
• Situations of Space Race at beginning and end of the war


  By landing on the mound, US effectively 'won' the race as it began with Sputnik's launch in 1957 - USSR made 4 failed attempts between 1969 and 1972 including explosion in July 1969.
• Importance of Space Race to cold war

  It was incredibly important to the cold war as it was a competition between US and USSR to demonstrate their technological and military superiority.

  It also fuelled further tension.