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The history of space exploration
The history of space exploration
Technology of the age of exploration
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It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so. 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. It was during this time that space travel reached its zenith. It was, for all intents and purposes, a big deal, and primarily so for three reasons. The first was the obvious: competition. Both parties were in a race to the top, and both the government and people were willing to dump exor... ... middle of paper ... ... Nov. 2013. Meyer, Robinson. "How Online Mapmakers Are Helping the Red Cross Save Lives in the Philippines." The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Rutz, Dan. “From pacemakers to braces, the medical benefits of space exploration.” CNN.com N.p., 2 Nov. 1998. Web. 8 Sept. 2013 "Solar Energy Statistics." Statistic Brain. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Steadman, Ian. “Vladimir Putin announces big new budget for Russian space agency.” Wired.co.uk. Wired. 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2013 Stern, Alan. “The Low-Cost Ticket to Space.” Scientific American 308 (2013): 68-73. Print. Teitel, Amy. “A Mixed Bag for NASA's 2012 Budget.” Discovery News. Discovery. 2 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2013 Thomas, Susan. "Gold rush in space? Asteroid miners prepare, but eye water first." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
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 ... ...
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.
Space travel is both fascinating and terrifying. The mystery of outer space captivates nearly all children and many adults. Neil Armstrong’s first words from the moon are iconic and will forever be engrained in the history of mankind. With the end of the Space Shuttle program many people have wondered if America’s space travels are coming to a close. Is space travel going to become a thing of the past? Kim Stanley Robison believes that the future of space travel, specifically an interplanetary mission to Mars, is not only fascinating, but necessary. In his short essay, “Why We Should Go to Mars”, Mr. Robinson starts with acknowledging that reasons for a mission to Mars “range from good to bad to terrible” (Robinson). He defines the range of common arguments which he believes are outlandish and seems to be wholly against the idea. His tone quickly changes as he presents what, in his opinion, are not only good but the best reasons as to why a Mars mission is not only a good idea, but a needed one.
October 4, 1957: The Russia launched Sputnik into space. Thus began the seemingly-eternal battle for control of space exploration. Who would get the first man into space; to the Moon, to Mars? Everything that could be done by either country was being done to give the edge. It soon became obvious to all that neither country was going to back down from the challenge. However, a lot has changed since 1957, governments have slumped, privatized exploration has taken charge. . . what happened? Where is space exploration going? Where is the human race, today?
As a country we need to start investing more money and research into space technology. Programs currently exist for this effort, but the potential for research and progress is limited by a lack of funding; compared to other government funded programs, aerospace funding is pitiful. Continued research in space technology is a necessary step in our growth and development not just as a country but also as entire human race. If we are to achieve this goal, it is necessary to increase funding for space research and technology and consider the possibility of colonizing outer space. If we limit our existence to the planet Earth, and continue to drain the resources on this planet, we will destroy the only home we have.
The Space Race began in or around the late-1950s, during the Cold War. The United States and Russia were both anxious to become the country to explore space. Unfortunately for the US, Russia launched the first artificial satellite and man-made object to orbit Earth, Sputnik. The launch of Sputnik surprised the United States, and we rushed to get our own space craft into space, and to beat Russia to anything else space related.
Space exploration is a significant part of today’s culture because it is improving our knowledge of what's beyond our atmosphere. It is important to consider the cost of space exploration, the risks, and how the world takes care of Earth. Overall, this issue requires society to consider the financial and ethical consequences that exploration has.
At the time of the space race, the United States was in the midst of the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Even in the early days of ...
After World War II ended, a silent war slowly began between the USSR and USA. It was a technology war. The two superpowers raced to the moon, but they couldn’t do this themselves. Both sides tried to recruit the German scientists that were behind the V-2 rockets. Using the V-2 rocket technology that could reach the speed of nearly 3500mph, both sides rushed to find the brilliant scientists behind the rockets technology. The race to space was very important during this time because of the Cold War era and they used satellites to spy on one another. Both countries were strong military wise and it was an equal match but to prove who’s the strongest the race to space began.
The history behind the quick development of the space program has always been a little bit hazy and is unbeknownst to most...
The space race had a great historical significance for the U.S. and the whole world. On the surface, it seemed as a battle of science and technology. In reality, it was actually a political battle between the world’s two major superpowers and their economic systems, an ideological battle between communism and capitalism. So, was the space race a waste of time? Could all those millions of dollars have been better invested in something else? Maybe, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that the space race stimulated research in many fields, and this research brought to many life changing developments. LED therapy to treat cancer, freeze-dried food, and the memory foam used in mattresses all resulted from the technologies developed by NASA for space. And let’s not forget to thank the space program for the much needed satellites for our GPS and cell phones!
Relating to the Audience: Of all the majors people are looking forward to in this classroom, there is not a single major that has not benefited from the space program. Thus it is important to analyze the most glaring threat this messiah of a program is facing.
Michael Collins once proclaimed that, “It’s human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice really; it’s an imperative.” People have always been fascinated by space exploration and it was during the 1950’s that the “race to space” took off. Both Russia and the United States wanted to be the first to travel into space and the first ones to land on the moon. Today, nations are still active in space exploration. This includes NASA (the U.S.), the Russian Federal Space Agency, CNSA (China), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), ISA (Italy), ROSA (Romania), and the Soviet Union. Now, some may argue that the United State’s space program has slowed down or even stopped having interest in space. However, there is a great deal of evidence that shows that NASA is still very much interested in space.
Since the beginning of time, mankind has sought after learning about and exploring the universe. This yearning drove us to achieve such great things as the journey to the moon and the discovery of water on mars. Nowadays, several people argue as to whether or not space exploration is worth the effort. I believe that it is humanity’s instinctual nature to pursue a better understanding of ourselves, and our universe. Further understanding of our universe will lead to the discovery of new technologies and ways to secure humanity’s survivability. As such, this essay will argue that space exploration is a necessity to our kind and that NASA should be progressively more financed.
From the moment that mankind even considered the possibilities of space and it's whereabouts, people began to wonder how the future would be like. Would there be people living in space? Would it be possible to reach the moon? The thought of space travel was exciting to people. It had never before been done and the time was right. The Soviet Union was in a race against time with the United States to successfully land a man on the moon.