Modern astronautical engineering, satellite development and space research are all direct effects of the Space Race and could arguably not have been possible without the 1955 Space Race between the U.S and U.S.S.R but when analyzing specific details we are faced with one issue. If the Space Race was really a “Race” then who won. In order to come out with a clear idea, we must understand the timeline of The Space Race.
October 1942 - The First Rocket
During the final years of WW2, the Germans used the V2 rocket as a last ditch effort to attack the allied forces but it ultimately failed. However when America and the Soviet Union took control of Germany they used the scientists and technologies for their own further research on space travel. The V2 Rocket was later recognized as the first piece of man made technology to enter space.
August 1957 - September 1957 - Early Success For The USSR
During August 1957 the U.S.S.R successfully launched the V7 which became the first intercontinental ballistic missile. The same rocket was used 2 months later to launch Sputnik which became the first man made satellite. This had gotten the U.S worried, not because of the satellite itself but the fact that the same technology could be used to launch nuclear warheads around the world.
December 1957- America’s Failure
Feeling threatened by the success of the Soviet Union president Eisenhower had ordered the navy to speed up their own project and in December 1957 Americans from all over tuned in to see the Vanguard TV3 launch… and then crash in 2 seconds.
January 1958 - April 1961 - American Efforts Over-Shadowed By Soviet Union
Despite the humiliation from the Vanguard Rocket the Army had been working on their own project and in January 1958 the Explorer had successfully lifted into orbit. However the American’s were surpassed yet again when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in Space
February 1962 - America Tries To Match The USSR
Over a year has passed and many other Soviet Astronauts had made it into space when finally in February 1962 John Glen became the first American man in space.
July 1969 - American Efforts Finally Pay Off
A month after Gagarin's flight president John F. Kennedy had realized that simply following after the Soviet Union would not be enough and that America had to be first in something. After coming to realization, he announced that America would be the first to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960’s,which was achieved in the Apollo program (Check Out The Link To See The Unknown Truth Behind The Landing Of Apollo 11). On July 1969 Neil Armstrong said his famous words while stepping foot on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
1975 - The Space Race Comes To An End
After the years of Apollo both space agencies turned towards space stations however improving relations between the USSR and the US called for a joint mission called Apollo-Soyuz where an American Apollo aircraft had diced with a Soviet Soyuz craft and the crew members shook hands which had marked the end of the space race by 1975
Now that we fully understand how the Space Race had happened we come back to the question at hand. Who won the space race? There are a variety of different answers. Some may say the Soviet have won because they broke so many records or that the Americans had won because their morale was higher in the end or people might even say that it was a pointless waste of time and money. But I believe that the entire world has benefited from the space race because it enables us to use many daily things such as memory foam to the internet.
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