Space Race
From 1957 to 1975, it was competition between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both sides were on edge to be better than the other especially in the mediagenic field of space and exploration. This went to the political matters showing which is more powerful the Communists or Capitalists. The first goal of the Space Race was to launch a satellite and first human in space.
The Soviet Union had the strong start of launching the first satellite and succeeding in sending the first human. The name of the satellite was called “Sputnik” and the first persons name was Yuri Gagarin and took place on April 12, 1961. The United States wanted to be better and a few months later wanted launch its own satellite but the U.S. First attempted failed until they had the success of the launched Explorer 1 satellite. The United States wanted to more advanced and its next goal was to send a man to the moon.
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was established in 1958 part of the United States government. NASA is in charge of the United States technology that it has to do with airplanes or space. On January 31, 1958 was when the United Staes launched its satellite Explorer 1 to orbit the earth. First human in space was Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961. The first American in space was Alan B. Shepard, Jr. On May 5, 1961. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth on February 20, 1962. Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova on June 16, 1963 was the first woman in space.
President Kennedy on May 1961 declared “the United States would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.” On July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 was launched at Cape Kennedy. It was the eleventh in a series of Apollo flight. It was 363 feet tall. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong he was the Mission Commander. The others were Michael Collins the Command Module Pilot. Lastly there was Edwin Aldrin, the LunarModule Pilot. The whole goal of this expedition was to land two men on the moon and return safely back home. On this journey this is where Neil Armstrong gave his famous speech that echoed even to this day “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”