The United States vs. USSR

930 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: what is the space race

The United States and the USSR emerged as super powers after WW11. The two countries were now the two most powerful nations on earth, but they had severe differences in policies and this led to a standoff between the two countries, a standoff which came to be known as the Cold War. At first the countries engaged in ArmsRace supremacy. Each nation wanted to create the most powerful bomb.A few years after another race began. It was a race for control of the outer space. This became known as the Space Race a period which lasted from 1957 to1975. The Space Race became a symbol of the political contest between two enemy world powers. For years the two super powers devised and plotted means and ways to get ahead of each other. Finally in October 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik into space. Thus began years of rivalry for control of outer space called the Space Race. This paper seeks to answer the question of which country won the Space Race.
The answer to the question of who won the Space Race might be controversial, and it all depends on who you ask the question.It is an understanding that “mankind’s access to new frontiers has always been a major factor in in the future success of societies that exploited the opportunities when they arose ”(Richardson). The United States was obsessed with space technology flexing its muscles at acquiring more arsenals albeit to expand supremacy. The world watched as the two super powers rivaled each other. Russia had won the lunar battle but the race was far from over (Reeves 42). America was furious and started a propaganda that since the USSR had the capability of propelling a satellite into space no telling they could do severe harm to the United States by sending nuclear weapons from space and ...

... middle of paper ...

...?NASA’s advancements in technology continues to generate billions of dollars, provide employment to numerous people and most importantly ,save lives. Today we see more and more young people taking up careers and jobs in the field of science.
The Cold War was one of the most tensed times in the history of the world as the two super powers brought the world to the brink of war on several occasions. America came away from this period as a much more technological developed country. Peter Dickens in an article titled, Who Really won the space race, stated that “the conventional account says that the Soviet Union had an early lead but the United States “won”[6] (monthly review). Some people will say that the USSR won the Space Race, however there's evidence that this never happened. It is clear that United States won the space race with NASA and came away with NASA as its

Show More
Related

  • Sputnik's Effects

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The 1980 Miracle on Ice

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1980, it seemed like the United States was not as dominant in the world as it had been before. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began after World War II. The two nations had joined forces as members of the Allies, but tensions arose after the war. The Americans were very worried about the spread of Soviet communism, and tried to prevent it with a policy of containment, where the United States would protect countries from outside oppression. The Cold War also expanded to include the race between the Soviets and Americans to create atomic weapons. Furthermore, there was a race between the two countries to put the first man in space, which was accomplished by the United States in 1961 (“Cold War History”). The Cold War was a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union to try to prove their dominance in the world. Each country wanted to have more power and diminish the power of the other. At home, Americans were paranoid with the thought of Soviet spies and communists hiding amongst them, dubbed the “Red Scare.” President Richard Nixon and the Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic A...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Sputnik Crisis

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Space Race in the 1960's

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960’s were full of questions, and one of the biggest questions the world was pondering about was regarding the Space Race: was the USA going to beat their communist enemy, the Soviet Union? The Space Race was a series of events that helped to symbolize and determine in the worlds’ eyes which form of government was better, communism (Soviets) or democracy (United States)? In the beginning of the race, the Soviets had the lead, and it was not looking good for America. Then the United States picked up the pace and spent well over eight billion dollars funding the space studies. This period of time made many scientists and astronauts heroes in the eyes of Americans. The Space Race was a combination of determination, intelligence, space projects, and American pride, all used to reach our exploration goals and surpass the Soviets.

    Read More

  • Space Race: A Reflection of the Cold War Rivalry

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Lost Space Race

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...o the Soviets inability to properly contain their civilians. The main reasons why the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics lost the Space Race the United States of America are because the USSR was communist. The civilians did not support or like living in a communist society, which made them flee to freedom and ran the cost of border control up to employ more guards. Also, the USSR alone controlled East Germany and East Berlin, while the United States ran West Berlin and West Germany with its allies France and Britain. Finally, the United States was tough competition for the Soviets. The sheer determination of the Americans to defeat the Soviets in the Space Race and restore order in Europe was greater than the Soviets expected. Even after failed attempts at reaching space, the Americans never gave up and beat the Russians to the moon, winning the Space Race.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Space Race In The United States

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Consumerism After World War II

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Politically, the Soviet Union and the United States were in an arms race as well as a space race which impacted the two countries greatly(413). After the USSR launched Sputnik, U.S. tried make more advancements in the space race. Meanwhile, Russia’s dive into creating the intercontinental ballistic missile put America in a tight spot. America however countered ICBM with its own version. Because of the arms race between the

    Read More

  • The United States Moon Landing of 1969

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    ​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 ...

    Read More

  • What Is The History Of The Space Race Essay

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States of America for technology on space that happened from 1955-1972. This competition caused many amazing things: The first object in space, the first man in space, and the first man on the moon. The Space Race had started in the Cold War, an Arms’ Race between the U. S and the USSR.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Space Race

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War formed political, social, and economic struggles that impacted the two world superpowers, the United States and Soviet Union. The war began in 1947 at the end of WWII and lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991. During the 1950’s, the United States and USSR began their fight in space to prove who had better technology, military firepower, and also stronger social, political, and economic systems. Due to the political, social, and economic changes during the Space Race, the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union began to drift apart. During the Cold War both the United States and Soviet Union were so caught up in the war that they formed tension within their relationship. This led to the Soviet Union and United States space programs to work even harder in their voyage in the Space Race.

    Read More

  • Nationalism During the Space Race

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    American nationalism during the Space Race fueled support for NASA, resulting in great technological and scientific advancements during the Cold War. The hyper-competitive atmosphere surrounding the Cold War heightened already existing rivalry between the United States’ and the Soviet Union’s science programs. As the two superpowers struggled for technological dominance, the American people were swept into a frenzy of nationalism. The Science News-Letter pointed out that the Space Race was driven by, “nothing more or less than the ego-driven pressures of competition.” The idea of the Soviet Union both having a superior space program as well as having the capacity to attack the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) brought the U.S. space program off the ground.

    Read More

  • Apollo 11: The Greatest Achievement in Human History

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Women In The Space Race Essay

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Innovations Needed for Deep Space Exploration

    2718 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The United States vs. USSR

Open Document