The Cold War and the Space Race

The Cold War between the USSR and the USA was a war with no physical battles. It was based off of a huge arms race, and who could become the most technologically advanced country. The war lasted from 1946 until around 1990, when tensions finally began to settle. It was partially caused by the American’s dislike of communism and their criticism of Joseph Stalin. In turn, this caused the Soviets to become doubtful of their former World War II ally, and they became angry when the US wouldn’t accept them as a legitimate part of their international community. When the Soviets started expanding into Europe after WWII, the Americans became scared that the Soviets were following through with their plan to take over the world, so they began a large buildup of arms, which finally raised tensions to a point of war. America soon decided they needed to use force to stop the Soviet expansion. They quadrupled the amount of spending on the military and defense and sparked another dive into the world of nuclear weapons. The Americans, under President Truman, quickly developed a hydrogen bomb, which became the most powerful weapon ever tested, evaporating an island within its 25-square-mile fireball. The Soviets had to respond, so with their nuclear tests beginning, it sparked a large nuclear race. Both countries were constantly in fear of nuclear attack from the other. American schools during this time even participated in bomb sheltering drills. The other main battlefield of the Cold War became outer space. In 1957, the Soviets launched the satellite Sputnik 1, a satellite powered by an R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile, into orbit, which became the first man-made object into space. According to History.com, "In the United States, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration, and it was crucial not to lose too much ground to the Soviets." This reason led the Americans to begin to build their own space program, sparking the beginning of the Space Race.

The Space Race began in 1957, after the Soviets launched the satellite Sputnik 1. After this launch, both sides rapidly expanded their space programs and tried to become the first to land on the moon. In the beginning, the Soviets were ahead, having successfully landed the first human in space, and the first spacewalk. However, around 1966, the US began to catch up and eventually pass the Soviets for the lead. Even through a major setback in the death of two Apollo astronauts, as well as an exploding hydrogen rocket, the US managed to land men on the moon in 1969, which won them the space race. However, there was still tension between them, which mainly calmed down in 1975, when they launched the first co-op mission. On this mission, the first handshake in space between Tom Stafford and Alexei Leonov  helped open a new page on what space exploration could be if everyone worked together. The Space Race was extremely important, and it still is today. It led to huge amounts of advancement in the world’s technology. The intense competition pushed both sides to discover so many new and different technologies, several years ahead of when they would have been discovered. According to Michael Neufeld, a historian at the National Air and Space Museum, among the most important discoveries that came from the Space Race were the new sciences learned and brought back from the Apollo moon landings and missions to the other planets. Also important was the rise of meteorology, communication, and spy satellites, which were all jump started by the space race.