Wernher Von Braun, the “Father of Rocket Science” born March 23 1912 in what is now modern day Poland, was one of the lead scientists on Nazi Germany’s militarized rocket program. Von Braun graduated from the Technical University of Berlin in 1932 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He then went on to get a graduates degree in physics at Friedrich Williams University in Berlin in 1934. Von Braun was primarily interested in using rockets to reach outer space however with the rise of the Nazi Party he was encouraged to develop rockets for the German Military rather than for space exploration. The Nazi Party, trying to rebuild the German economy and military to its former might, was quick to commission Von Braun as a scientist in their …show more content…
After traveling to central Germany to avoid Soviet Forces, Von Braun and his team surrendered to the United States on May 2nd 1945. The United States quickly initiated Operation Paperclip, approving transfer of Von Braun and his team to the United States on June 20th 1945. Von Braun was moved to Fort Bliss in Texas where they began refurbishing V-2 rockets. With the start of the Korean War, Von Braun was relocated to Huntsville Alabama. His team began work on a new combat missile for the United States Army. Von Braun and his team developed the PGM 11 Redstone Rocket, the first missile to detonate after delivering a nuclear warhead on August 1st 1958 during Operation HARDTACK, a series of US nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. Von Braun as director of the Development Operations Division of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, lead development of the Jupiter C rocket which carried the United States’ first satellite into orbit on January 31st 1958. Following the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, the United States started the Nation Aeronautics and Space Administration on July 29th 1958. Von Braun was made the first director of NASA July 1st 1960 and remained until January 27th 1970. Von Braun, finally able to pursue peaceful rocket development began development of his dream project- the Saturn V rocket, meant to carry man to the stars. The Saturn V, which was developed by a team led Wernher Von Braun, brought the first man to the moon on July 16th
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.
Wernher von Braun. Idealist and visionary. Braun began his career in 1925 with the hopes and dreams of leading humanity to the stars. Do you know what he said when the first rocket hit London? He said that “the rocket performed perfectly, it just landed on the wrong planet.”
This blow to national pride along with the fear that the Soviets could potentially launch ICBMs from space led to “Rocket fever”. The sudden wave of nationalism and the desire to build a space program worthier to that of the Soviet Union led to the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under President Eisenhower, the investment of billions of dollars in missile development, and the expansion of the National Academy of Science’s charter.... ... middle of paper ... ...
In 1949, the U.S. was shocked when the U.S.S.R. was able to successfully reproduce a nuclear missile, when, the U.S. had been carefully guarding the plans for the missiles. The missiles continued to improve when, in January of 1950 a German theoretical physicist named Klaus...
The Americans took a much more urgent approach after seeing what the U.S.S.R. was truly capable of. The United States would respond with various satellites including those of the Explorer Series and more. However, the Soviet Union would again one-up the United States, and all of their now seemingly feeble satellite launches, by putting the first man into outer space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Now the quest gained an even more competitive drive and the United States soon put Alan B. Shepard into space twenty-three days later. The Space Race was truly a trek for the firsts of history, essentially just exterrestrial one-ups throughout an extended period of time. That very same year, John F. Kennedy founded NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, just for that purpose, to explore the world beyond their own, while maintaining the central aim, to beat the Soviets outright. JFK was a leading power in this race, and “by giving NASA programs top priority, his actions essentially played on American fears of communism and implicitly inferred that the Eisenhower administration had not done enough to meet the Sputnik challenge. Too many Americans were beginning to feel a need to vindicate the ‘long-standing communist boast that theirs was the superior system for galvanizing human productivity’” (Koman 43). Winning this space race was way more than just an extraterrestrial victory, it would hopefully squander the communists’ hopes and assert true American dominance. The United States sought to eliminate any presumption of communist superiority and did so in the near future by winning this Cold War space race, thanks to the execution of a truly unimaginable
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...
Humanity’s first exploration into space changed the world of astronautics by revolutionizing space travel for both the USSR and the United States. After WWII ended, many countries were torn apart and general enmity radiated from opposing countries. This period of political and military hostility is known as the Cold War, and it lasted from 1945-1991 (Kramer) However, two powerful nations were the main antagonists of the Cold War- Russia, (formerly known as the USSR), and the United States. As these two countries started threatening each other with attacks, the compulsion to defend themselves skyrocketed. Their nuclear weapon stockpiles increased dramatically, and on October 30, 1961, the USSR tested and detonated their biggest nuclear bomb, called the Tsar Bomba. This bomb was unique in the fact that it was the largest nuclear bomb ever detonated (and remains so), having the energy equivalent to 50 million tons of TNT (“Th...
The expansion of the television in the 1950s brought civil rights to the attention of americans. From the media coverage of the Rosa Parks incident to the first ever TV show hosted by an African American in 1950 were the first sparks of a movement that would catch fire in the 1960s (“1950s”). Another prominent technological invention of the 1950s was the hydrogen bomb invented on November 1st 1952. After the United States invented the hydrogen bomb in less than a year, on August 12th 1953 the Soviet Union detonated their first hydrogen bomb. Throughout the 1950s the Cold War was going on between the United States and the Soviet Union and the invention of the hydrogen bomb started an arms race to see who could make the most bombs in the shortest amount of time. This technology further escalated the Cold War and brought it to a tipping point in the next decade (Shmoop Editorial Team). Another technology that intensified the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was the launch of the first satellites Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 by the Soviet Union which started the space race. The launch of Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 caused a massive uproar in the american public which lead to the launch of America’s first satellite Explorer 1 on February 1st 1958 and the creation of NASA on July 29th 1958 a year after Sputnik 1 and 2 in 1957 (Virginia and Hugh pg. 19-20). All these technological
Wernher Von Braun worked on the V2 and at NASA. However, he didn’t want to create weapons, and only at NASA was he able to research technology for human space exploration. One very strong piece of evidence for Wernher Von Braun trying work on technology for human space exploration was the fact that he was jailed by the German government for a short time. The German officials suspected that he was working on technology to send
The race for space began with Russia’s launch of Sputnik, the world’s first space satellite, on October 4, 1957. This launch caught the attention of the United States for multiple reasons; not only did this mean that Russia had surpassed the US in space technology, but it also signified that Russia had the capability of launching nuclear weapons at the
The Manhattan Project took place during World War II, in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Germany was already developing an atomic weapon. In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to president Franklin Roosevelt, explaining an idea he had for developing a nuclear weapon, and saying they should begin to research it. Roosevelt agreed with Einstein, and organized a research committee. In 1942, Roosevelt created a secret government project to build a nuclear weapon. This project was titled the Manhattan Project, and was the largest secret government project in US history.
July 20th, 1969. This day will always be remembered as the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Armstrong along with another astronaut were able to walk and take samples on the moon to bring back to United States to study. You might wonder why Neil Armstrong was chosen along with the other two men to be sent to the moon. Well, as I was researching Armstrong I learned about his life. In my paper I will be explaining on why he was sent to the moon while also talking about the life he lived.
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...
In 1957 the Soviets used a missile to launch a satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around the earth. The arms race then became a space race as the United States rushed to launch its own satellites, some for military purposes.
In 1958 a group known as The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded. The first probe to escape Earth's gravity was the Soviet LUNA 1, launched on Jan. 2, 1959. It passed the Moon and continued into interplanetary space. The U.S. probe Pioneer 4, launched two months later, followed the same path. Later Soviet probes either hit the Moon or passed it and took photographs of the hidden far side, relaying them back to Earth.