The Cold War and the Space Race At the conclusion of World War 2 both
the United States and Russia set themselves up to be super powers
This rivalry and disputes between the two countries was a part of everyday life
On October 4, 1957 the Space Race began with Russia launching the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into space
The ability to use a rocket to launch the satellite created a fear of the Russians for most citizens because if they could launch a rocket into space they also could launch a nuclear bomb/missile towards the United States
Creation of NASA and the Race is on 1958, the US launched its first artificial satellite
(Explorer I) and President Dwight Eisenhower signed a public order creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
1959, Russians launched Luna 2 which is the first space probe to hit the moon
April 1961 Russian Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the first man in space
May 1961, Alan Shepard became first American in space and JFK made his proclimation that the US would put a man on the moon before the end of the 60’s
February 1962, John Glenn became first American to orbit Earth
To the Moon
The process of getting to the moon was broken into three major segments (projects) Project Mercury Project Gemini Project Apollo
Project Mercury
3 Goals: To orbit a manned
spacecraft around Earth To investigate man’s
ability to function in space To recover both man and
spacecraft safely
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/program-toc.html
Project Mercury Notable missions:
Mercury-Redstone 7 – Suborbital flight piloted by Alan Shepard (1st American in space) – 15 min 28 sec
Mercury-Atlas 6 – piloted by John Glenn and was a three-orbit flight – 4 hrs 55 min
Mercury-Atlas 9 – the last Mercury mission; completed 22 orbits to evaluate effects of one day in space – 34 hours 19 min
Liftoff of the Mercury-Atlas rocket from Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral marked the first American manned orbital space flight carrying astronaut John Glenn. Image credit: NASA http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/history/mercury7.html
Project Gemini
Goals: To subject man and equipment
to space flight up to two weeks in duration
To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle’s propulsion system
To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land
Landing on land goal was cancelled in 1964
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/gemini/gemini.htm
Project Gemini Notable missions:
Unmanned Missions: Gemini I and Gemini II -
launched vehicles into space to be docked with at a later date
Manned Missions: Gemini III – Gemini XII –
slowly worked on the goals – starting with testing the 2-man piloted mission all the way up to docking in space, spending extended period of time in space, and perfecting re-entry to Earth
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00181/gemini.html
Project Apollo Goals:
Establishing technology to meet other national interests in space
Achieving preeminence in space for the United States
Carrying out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon
Developing man’s capability to work in the lunar environment
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/index.html
Project Apollo
Notable missions: Jan 27, 1967 –
Apollo 1 was set to take off, but a fire started and killed all 3 astronauts on the launch pad
Apollo 10 mission completed all aspects of an actual lunar landing, except the landing
http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/as01/a01sum.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/graphics/0/10075155.jpg
Project Apollo Notable
missions: July 20, 1969
Apollo 11 reached the moon Spent 21 hours
on the moon Apollo 13 –
Successful Failure
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/images/as11_44_6552.jpg
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/images/as11_40_5903.jpg
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html
Bibliography
History of Space Race http://www.history.com/topics/space-rac
e http://www.nasa.gov/missions/past/index
.html