Space exploration during the 1960 set the stage for exploration around the world. During the 1960's a lot of first took place in space exploration. Space exploration during the 1960's was very important because it set the bench mark for space exploration and planet exploration. The other great push that helped space exploration during the 1960's is the Cold War. The Cold War was a political and military tension after World War II. The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991 This research paper will contain information on the major events that took place during the 1960's.
On August 19, 1960 the Soviets launched two female dogs into Space. Belk and Strelka were launched off the Soviets new space craft Vostok. Belka and Strelka were the first beings to live in space. The flight lasted 24 hours and had a safe entry. Strelka and
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One of the pups was given to Jacqueline Kennedy. Who was the wife of former president John Franklin Kennedy. The dog was given to Jacqueline as a we beat you there gift by the Soviets. This was very aggravating to the Americans because the Soviets had beaten the United State in almost every space exploration thing during the Cold War. Strelka and Belka eventual died of old age and can be viewed at the Cosmonautics Memorial Museum in Moscow, Russia. The mission of Vostok proved that living beings could live in outer space and led to other achievements and eventual putting the first men on the moon.1
On April 12,1961 Russian Cosmonaut, Russian Astronaut, Yuri Gargarin became the first man in space. Yuri was a 27 year old test pilot and industrial Technician. He was born on March 9, 1934 in Klushino, Russia. Yuri was launched from the spacecraft Vostok I On April 12,1961.Yuri traveled 187 miles above the Earth and reached speeds up to 27,000 KM per hour.Yuri was guided by an automatic system. One hour and forty eight minutes into his flight Yuri said " Flight is proceeding normally; I am
"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.
The Soviet’s were responsible for putting man on the moon, rovers on Mars, and launching the Hubble Space Telescope. Indeed, it was the United States’ foes that drove the U.S. to accomplish perhaps the greatest feats of the twentieth century. Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, tensions between former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, began to grow. In the following decades, the two superpowers would duke it out in competitions and tremendous shows of nationalism. They formed unmatchable rivalries in politics, economics, sciences, and sports. 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 into the American Public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s which opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations.
At the end of WWII in 1945, the USA and the Soviet Union emerged as the world’s superpowers. This was a time of great tension, rivalry and distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a time of political, diplomatic, military and economic rivalry where both nations wanted to emerge as the world’s new superpower. Hence, the Cold War would be of profound significance in the development of the space race as the space race was a key element in the rivalry of political, economic and social dominance.
Space travel began in the 1960s with sending humans on single missions into space. Rockets launched into the air and just the tip would land in the ocean after parachuting back to Earth ("Space Shuttle Program," par. 4). The focus of space exploration changed during the 1980s; shifting from the desire for human space flight to the desire to create a reusable spacecraft. Originally called Space Transportation System (STS), NASA created the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) (Heiney, par. 1-2). It wanted a shuttle that was more economical because it could be launched, landed and relaunched and could gather better information. The 1980s began a new era in space exploration and had one the biggest tragedies in the history of space travel.
He needed to convince the Chinese and enemies in his own country that Russia was a match for America. In 1957 the Russians had moved ahead in the space race when they launched the Sputnik. This had worried the Americans. However, in 1961, Russia was able to send Yuri Gagarin into space and bring him back again.
Laika is the name of the first dog sent to orbit space. She was a stray dog found almost a week before the rocket was set to launch to outer space. Laika was chosen to be launched because of her calm demeanor and small stature. On November 3 1957, Laika was launched on a one-way trip to outer space, by reason of the technology at reach was not advanced enough to bring her back home. This launch was done to measure the safety of space travel for humans. Laika was a very nice and a great dog; a staff member from the space center would periodically bring her home to play with his children. Furthermore, Dr. Vladimir Yazdovksy wrote in his scientific journal noting, “Laika was quiet and charming” (Latson). Considering this was a one way trip,
The Soviets took a lead by launching the first successful satellite into space. On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I and it successfully entered Earth’s orbit. This first success started the Space Age. The Soviets successful launch shocked the whole world, giving the Soviet Union the respect for putting the first man-made object into outer space. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months after Sputnik I, called the Explorer I. The US would have had the first satellite in orbit if they were allowed to use military rockets from the beginning. But, Eisenhower was worried he would be called a warmonger if he used military rockets for launching a satellite into orbit. He told the sci...
Canada’s first ever interest in space exploration came into play during 1959 when the first suborbital sounding rocket was launched from Manitoba.
In 1961, during the height of the space race, the Soviet Union became the first nation to launch a man, Yuri Gagarin, into space. This was monumental for the Soviet Union at the time because it propelled them ahead of the United States in the space race. However, there is a conspiracy theory that the Soviet Union launched other humans into space, but they unfortunately failed their mission or met a fatal end. This conspiracy theory is known as the Lost Cosmonauts, or Phantom Cosmonauts. This conspiracy theory alleges, “...that cosmonauts entered outer space, but without their existence having been acknowledged by either the Soviet or Russian space authorities,” (“Unexplained Mysteries of Lost Cosmonauts”). Proponents to this conspiracy theory relinquish that Yuri Gagarin was, in fact, the first human to survive space flight, but not the first to be sent into space (Faraci). There are numerous theories as to what happened to these cosmonauts and there is actual evidences that would help to support the Lost Cosmonaut conspiracy theory.
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).
Space travel was born from the flames of war – or in this case, the refrigerators of war. The Soviet Union and the United States were ready to show up each other in the fields of science and engineering, and with the recent advent of rocketry, it was evident that space was the next goal. Russia held the first few victories: including the first man-made satellite and the first man in space. Following these defeats, America picked itself up, and defeated the Russians on the race to the moon.
The space race was the product of the Cold War. It was an effort to prove technological superiority but on the other hand, it was also feared on both sides that weapons of mass destruction will be placed in orbit. In 1957, the Soviet Union sent the 184 pound Sputnik 1 satellite into Earth’s orbit. It was the first artificial satellite and the first manmade object to be placed into Earth’s orbit. Following that, they also sent the first animal into space, Laika the dog. In 1958, the United Sates also launched their first satellite into orbit, dubbed Explorer 1. The Soviet space program advanced once again in 1959. The Soviet Union launched Luna 2, which was the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet Union had the ultimate success, sending the first human into space. The name of the Russian cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin, who made a 108 minute suborbital flight in a Vostok 1 spacecraft. One month after that, Alan Shepard became the American in space aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Continuing from there, each nation step...
During the twentieth century space race space debris was beginning to be placed into Earth's orbit. This was subsequently done by humans, appropriately after the launch of Sputnik, the first satellite launched into space. On June 3, 1965, Astronaut Edward Higgins White II made his début space walk. While outside the spacecraft, White's spare thermal glove escaped and floated away. It escaped through an open hatch of the spacecraft. The glove became one of many objects listed as early space debris. Similarly, Astronaut Suni Williams lost a camera in space. While she was in Earth's orbit repairing features on the International Space Station, her unattached from space suit & drifted away into space.
Valentina Vladimora Nikolayeva Tereshkova was the first woman to enter into space. She joined a Soviet training program in the year 1961 and two years later she successfully orbited the earth 48 times in the Votsok 6.
The 1960's brought new advancements for all of Earth. Machines and men were sent into space, and this sparked a new government agency, called NASA. Space was a new frontier, and virtually everyone was interested in exploring it. Over the years, the interest in space exploration has weakened, and NASA was almost terminated from existence, although there have been many advancements in it over that time. Space exploration should continue because it could help solve many problems on Earth, such as overpopulation and lack of resources. Exploration of the final frontier must continue in order for human life to continue.