Unit 11 Power Notes Part 2Aerospace Technology

NASA and Aerospace Technology• The “Space Race” was a 20th-century competition

between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (Russia) and the U.S. for supremacy in spaceflight capability.

• In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, humanity’s first artificial satellite in space.

NASA and Aerospace Technology• In 1961, a Soviet Cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin became

the first human to enter space. Also during that year Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space.

NASA and Aerospace Technology• In 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a memorable

speech at Rice University in Houston calling for America to sets its goal for landing on the moon in 1970. Also during that year Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. He later became a U.S. Senator from Ohio and a space shuttle pilot.

NASA and Aerospace Technology• In the mid-1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson was named

Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council (later became NASA). He continued JFK’s commitment for America to land on the moon. The Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston was renamed after him – the Johnson Space Center.

NASA and Aerospace Technology• NASA began with 3 primary space programs in their quest

for the moon: the Mercury (early 1960s), the Gemini (the mid-1960s), and the Apollo (late 1960s).

• Astronaut Walter Cunningham, a civilian, piloted the Apollo 7 which provided the first live television transmission of onboard activities to America.

NASA and Aerospace Technology• On July 20, 1969, the crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin,

and Mike Collins aboard Apollo 11 became the first men to land on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon when he infamously uttered, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

NASA and Aerospace Technology• In 1981, President Ronald Reagan oversaw the first space

shuttle mission. 5 space shuttles were built: Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery, and Endeavor. 2 shuttles exploded: Challenger in 1986 during takeoff…and Columbia in 2003 during reentrance. Atlantis flew the last mission in 2011.

Agriculture & the Environment in the 1950s and 1960s• Agriculture production increased because of improvements

in agricultural technology and machinery, use of better insecticides and pesticides, and expanded use of crop irrigation methods.

• Environmental problems led to Texas taking state and federal measures to clean up the air and water pollution;

Agriculture & the Environment in the 1950s and 1960s• Steps included: 1) creating the Texas Air Control Board to

monitor air pollution, 2) passed laws which no longer allowed cities to burn garbage, 3) monitored industries to reduce water pollution in/around Houston Shipping Channel and bay area.

Oil Technology and OPEC in the 1970s• In 1908, a native Houstonian named Howard Hughes Sr.

revolutionized the oil industry by developing the rotary drill bit. This bit made it possible to drill through very hard rock to reach oil deep underground.

Oil Technology and OPEC in the 1970s• Purpose of OPEC was to control the supply and price of oil

around the world• In late 1970s, OPEC cut off all U.S. oil supplies because of

U.S. ties/support of Israel; this started an oil shortage “energy crisis” in the U.S.

• The energy crisis affected many Texans: 1) gasoline prices became much higher, 2) gasoline was rationed to customers, 3) gas stations had to close on Sundays

Computer Technology• In 1958, Jack Kilby invented the he invented the integrated

silicon circuit, or “chip” that was first used in calculators, computers, and watches. He worked for the Austin-based Company Texas Instruments, and was later honored in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C.

Computer Technology• In 1962, H. Ross Perot became a billionaire when he

founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962. EDS was a multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Computer Technology• In the 1980s, Michael Dell founded Dell Computers in

Round Rock, Texas, when he decided to sell computers first, and then build them. His company initially had over $2 billion in sales with more than 4,800 employees. His company’s success led to many jobs in Williamson County which became Texas’s second-fastest growing county in the 1990s.