Space Race Remodeled the United States

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In the 1960s, the United States and USSR started a race exploring outer space. Both countries invested a lot of money on building missiles. In 1957, the Soviets shocked the world by launching the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. United States suddenly realized the importance of the space. In 1962, the first American orbited Earth. Seven years later, Neil Armstrong became the first human to travel the moon. The space race changed world pattern. It consolidated US position and weakened USSR. Although the space race spent huge amount of taxpayer’s money, it ultimately changed American views, restored people’s confidence from losing Vietnam War, strengthened US economy, and significantly affected American future.
The space race produced controversies that the Americans questioned whether exploring space is necessary. Many people were not optimistic on the prospect of space race. Nobel laureate Linus Pauling asserted that, "While it will contribute something in the way of scientific discovery, the contribution will be very small compared to putting that money into...medical research or other basic scientific research... [or] in under-developed countries." The public questioned the cost performance of exploring space. Of course, the taxpayers don’t want to spend their money in space research. The Americans were somehow dissatisfied with their government because of the space race. It is correct that the United States had wasted huge amounts of money in space race; however, competing with the USSR is the primary focus at the time. So, even medical research and other basic researches might produce more contributions to the society, winning the space race would help the US to win the Cold War. Additionally, Containment policy stated t...

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...e environment. Even though space race was over for over forty years, it will still have positive effects on Americans future in investigating outer space.

Works Cited

Veve, Thomas D. "space race." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 16 May 2014.
Dunbar, Brian. "Societal Impact of the Space Age." NASA. NASA, 07 Nov. 2005. Web. 26 May 2014.
Levy, Edward. “Space Race.” Issues & Controversies in American History. Infobase Publishing, 30 Mar. 2006. Web. 16 May 2014.
"NebraskaStudies.Org." NebraskaStudies.Org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2014.
“Products and Technology that Emerged from the Space Race.” Issues & Controversies in American History. Infobase Publishing, 30 Mar. 2006. Web. 5 June 2014.
“Survey on the 'Impact of U.S. and Soviet Space Programs on World Opinion' (USIA Summary).” Issues & Controversies in American History. Infobase Publishing, Web. 26 May 2014.

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