On the day of May 25, 1961 the president(John F. Kennedy) has announced that he(NASA) wanted to accomplish sending a man to the moon and having him return safely back to Earth by the end of the century. And finally, eight years after he made this speech NASA had made an Apollo program and in July 20, 1969 they had successfully met the presidents challenge. The astronaughts that we’re sent to space were Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” they were the first people to have ever step foot on the moon. One quote that everyone has hear is “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for man kind”.
However before this event happened the “race to space” was initiated on October 4, 1957. However, before America launched people to space the Soviet Union was leaving us in the dust with the launch of Sputnik.
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And many people feared that this could lead to a Nuclear war because as stated in document B as the Americans made atomic bombs it had taken the Soviets four years to catch up to that, and then the creation of the hydrogen bomb only took them nine months, now it was the Americans trying to cathch up to them, the soviets where no longer behind in technology. On December 6th of 1957 we had attempted to launch a rocket to space to “catch up” to the soviets however, the rocket failed miserably it had begun to lift off then came crashing down on its self and erupted into an
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.
These rivalries would become clear when two countries competed in the space race, a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union concerning achievements in the field of space exploration. The Soviet’s took the early lead as they put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch of Sputnik 1 established a sense of fear in the American public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s. This opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations. After World War II, the Cold War created tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States leading to extreme national pride and competition, culminating in the space race which began with the launch of Sputnik 1.
Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union made it a priority to outdo each other in every possible facet from arsenals of missiles to international alliances and spheres of influences. Yet when the Soviets launched Sputnik on October 4th, 1957, the world changed forever. The first manmade object was fired into space, and it appeared that American technology and science had fallen behind. Yet, the public feared that not only were they now technologically inferior to the Soviets, but also deduced that if a satellite could be launched into space, a nuclear missile could just as likely reach the mainland United States. Less than a month later, the Soviets pushed the bounds of technology yet again by
On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong planted the first human footprints in the lunar soil. The United States had accomplished their goal in sending men to the moon. They managed to not only send them 238,857 mi. (384,403 km) into space to our neighbor celestial body, but also send them back with a successful flight to our mother earth. This seems like a difficult task for a country that was behind Russia in space exploration at the time.
America went to the moon in the 1960’s, during a time of war, a time that was so far behind in technology compared to now, but yet human beings went to the moon . Human beings are capable of many wonderful things and their potential has no limits, except for the limits that are placed by government and society. Neil deGrasse Tyson attempted to liberate NASA from the limits of low funding by giving a speech to the U.S Senate. Tyson used emotion and logical thinking to make the complexity of NASA as relatable to the audience as possible, and by doing so he wanted to convey to them how important NASA is in our society today and the future of the human kind.
In 1961, the United States of America was embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This confrontation was taking place not only on land, sea and air, but in space as well. On May 25th, 1961 recently elected US President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, during which he outlined his now famous Man on the Moon challenge. It was through this ambitious dream that the creation of the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) came about, which President Kennedy challenged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he didn't live to see the achievement of his dreams, the United States successfully landed Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 and brought them home safely1. It was President Kennedy's passionate beliefs that come through not only in his style of writing but in his delivery of the speech that drive home his point and get Congress, Industry and the American people to take up his call to arms.
After World War II both the United States and the Soviet Union realized how important rocket research would be to the military. So they each hired the top rocket scientists from Germany to help with their research. After they hired them both sides were making a lot of progress. The Space Race began in 1955 when the Americans announced that they would start launching satellites into orbit. The Soviets took the US announcement as a challenge and established a group whose goal was to beat the US in putting a satellite into orbit. Even though the United States started the competition the Soviets still won because they launched the first successful satellite into orbit, put a dog into outer space and also put the first man into outer space. Some might say that the United States won because they put the first man on the moon, which was a huge feat made by the Americans. So for winning many missions against the U.S. the Soviets won the Space Race.
On May 25, 1961, just two weeks after the US had successfully got an American into space, John F. Kennedy gave a speech addressing it and exclaimed, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish..." (Kruse). The Space Race became an important event for all of humanity during the 20th century because it improved our knowledge of space, improved and inspired new technology, and improved our education. It sparked a mix of both friendly and non friendly competition between the Capitalist United States and the Communist Russia (USSR) from the launch of Sputnik in 1957, all the way to the Apollo-Soyuz project that ended the race in 1975 .
Early on in the race, the USSR was very successful. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, which triggered the start of the space race (John F. Kennedy). The United States began to scramble, trying to catch up with the Soviets. However, soon after, the Soviet Union completed another huge success. They sent the first man to orbit Earth (John F. Kennedy). In 1961 the USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever orbit the Earth (John F. Kennedy). The United States was still unsuccessful and beginning to look weak. After that, America got serious. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy asked Congress for around eight billion dollars to build up the space program over the next five years (John F. Kennedy). The president declared, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” (John F. Kennedy).
Around the world, many countries did choose to ally themselves with the United States, but it was soon clear that the USSR would not be among them. The Soviets were developing their own nuclear program at the same time as the Manhattan Project was underway, and Soviet espionage provided them with crucial information from the Manhattan Project that helped their progress (Walker, 67). When the United States used the atomic bombs on Japan, the USSR believed that the United States would seek to threaten Soviet interests. Instead of simplifying the growing conflict between the United States and the USSR, the use of atomic weapons on Japan only made the situation more complex.
“On July 16, 1969 the world watched in anticipation as three men were hurtled skyward in a rocket bound for the moon.” (news.nationalgeographic.com). This was the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first successful manned mission to the moon. This mission was the product of the space race (race to see who would go into outer space first, against the Soviet Union). This goal was set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 and he promised that we would be the first to step on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo 11 mission is often cited as the greatest achievement in human history. (news.nationalgeographic.com)
Neil Armstrong looked at it not only as a great triumph for America, but also for the human race when he said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" on his first step on the moon (Dunbar). On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech about what he called "urgent national needs" at a stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas (“NASA Moon Landing”). In that speech, he challenged America to "commit itself to landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the decade"(Schlager and Lauer). This became known as Kennedy's challenge and the idea was to outperform the Soviets. While the Soviets were off to a better start with the launch of Sputnik I, we soon rose to the challenge and accomplished our goal only eight years later on June 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin safely landed on the moon. With the great accomplishments of Apollo 11, America had bettered the Soviets and established superiority in space.
Even in the late 19th century, few people believed such a feat was possible, and yet, a mere half a century later, the first man was launched into space (Irvine 5). How did the human race go from just dreaming about space to actually launching human beings into space in such a short time? Surprisingly, the United States’ space program started with the Cold War. The Cold War pushed the United States and the Soviet Union into a space race in which both nations rapidly developed space programs and tried to best each other in space exploration (Cold War 1). The Kennedy Space Center was built in Florida as a control center which handled many of the shuttle launches into space (NASA 1).
In 1945 when America was able to create and use the atomic bomb, the USSR felt insecure and was determined to create one of its own. After that, Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) were built up into huge arsenals by the USSR and America. Both sides soon had the power to wipe out the not only the enemy, but the rest of the world as well. The United States exploded a hydrogen bomb in 1952, and the Soviets tested on year later. Both nations rushed to develop missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was July 20 1969, the day that reshaped our nation and gave us unparalleled dreams for the future. The impact of the day goes far beyond our pride and nationalism; that day would change space exploration and technology forever. Just like a shooting star, that day would give us a glimpse of hope. A chance to see an event so breathtaking and defying, it would be man’s greatest accomplishment in the 20th century. As millions of people watched from their TV sets, a rush of euphoria came over the nation as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the surface of the moon. It was the first time in the history of mankind that we would step on the surface of another celestial body. John F. Kennedy dared us to dream, he inspired the nation to reach for the moon, to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. The Space Race was symbolic of many things. Our future as the technically dominate nation was secured in place; just as secure as Old Glory would be, when she was driven down into the soil of the moon. We not only reached the moon, we conquered it as a nation; united.