Download The History Of The Space Race History

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Alex Waugh
Mrs. Hermes
AP US History
14 November 2013
We Choose To Go To The Moon: The History Of The Space Race
History would remember the Space Race as a global competition between the US and the
Soviet Union for dominance in space exploration. The scientists and leaders during this period
would remember it as a great responsibility to be the first into space, and underline its rights and
principles. The Space Race went much deeper than simply being a scientific competition. It
would go on to be a cultural, political, and social movement that would have a tremendous
impact on the Cold War. Gaining dominance in space was not just beneficial by experimental
means, but also important to national security. The “American Way” of being the first and best
was in jeopardy, and it was up to a newly formed space agency in NASA to preserve it. In this
sense of urgency to defeat the Soviets to space, the entire United States felt the responsibility to
claim space dominance.
As World War II came to an end in Europe, the Space Race was just beginning. After
bringing German rocket scientist Werner Von Braun to the United States, the Americans started
their program. In response to this public acquiring of the ex-Nazi scientist, the Soviet Union
picked Sergei Korolev to head their space program. Years of rocket test launches and research
would pass before any major achievements occurred. The Soviets, lead by Korolev, were first to
launch a rocket with enough power to launch an object into orbit in early 1957. Mixed with anger
and jealousy, von Braun urged the United States to increase the funds for his project to a launch
a rocket into space. With a higher budget, his response was the Jupiter-C.
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The public appeal towards these programs was not met with much popularity until
October 4th 1957. This day will go down as the true start of the Space Race. It was the launch of
the Soviet Sputnik 1 that would shock the American people and send a bold message to their
scientists. The enraged and stunned Americans, lead by President Eisenhower, quickly began to
jumpstart their space program. On January 31, 1958 the United States launched the Explorer 1
into space. The US government passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 soon
after. This act declared the “Preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in
aeronautical and space science technology” (NASA). With this act passed, the responsibility of
having a nation built behind science, math, and technology was clearly defined. The Space Act
also enforced the “Cooperation by the United States with other nations in the peaceful
application of space research” (NASA). This would be a major point in the later years of the
Space Race.
As the accomplishments mounted up with almost no advantage to either side, President
Kennedy intervened. His goal to break the deadlock was based on one thing only: The Moon.
Kennedy stressed the responsibility of his people in his famous “We choose to go to the moon”
speech at Rice University. On September 12, 1962 John F. Kennedy persuaded the audience in
Houston to back the Space Race. He declared, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and
do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will
serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one
that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win,
and the others, too” (Kennedy). Kennedy’s speech was met with much applaud and with NASA
officially being initiated, the road to the moon was in sight. The Soviets, on the other hand, were
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beginning to lower their space funds. Dominance in space could finally be achieved by the
Americans.
In order to put a man on the moon, NASA launched the Apollo program in the early
1960’s. The program called for a three-man team that would fly to the moon. The program’s first
mission, Apollo 1, was a complete disaster. A fire in the cockpit killed all three crewmembers.
The next few missions went much more smoothly. After ten missions, it was finally time to go to
the moon. On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins set forth on
Apollo 11. After a perfect launch, the astronauts spent three days traveling into the moon’s orbit.
After orbiting the moon 30 times, Armstrong and Aldrin descended from the Lunar Module and
landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon’s surface. Back
on earth, America was in celebration. Kennedy’s dreams had come true and it had seemed that
the United States had won the Space Race.
In 1972, the Apollo program came to a close. Since then, not one person has been to the
moon. The United States were the first and only nation to land there. America did not claim any
land on the moon and although there is an American flag there, they never will. Having the upper
hand in space exploration could give a country dominance in this frontier but instead, the U.S.
decided to lie out the rights and restrictions in space. Two years prior to the lunar landing, the
United States, Great Britain, and Soviet Union joined forces to sign the Outer Space Treaty. The
treaty represents the legal aspect of space. It forbids any government from owning an outer space
resource such as the Moon or a planet, claiming that they are the “common heritage of mankind”.
Even after NASA astronauts stepped foot on the moon, the treaty was still respected. Since 1967,
over a hundred nations have signed the treaty.
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As a result of the Space Race, outer space has been set up for peaceful exploration and
travel for years to come. Many people will wonder if the Space Race really did achieve anything
that impacts life on earth. In fact, the Space Race’s main accomplishment comes in the lines of
the “common heritage of man”. With the Cold War still in full throttle and communism still
looming, people with different ideas, religions, and ways of life were able to work together and
preserve the right of a vast unknown place known as outer space. It was this idea that even a
nation like the United States is equal to all other nations in space that would make the race to
space an important achievement for the development of humanity.
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Works Cited
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Dunbar, Brian. "The Race to Space." NASA. NASA, 23 May 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
"JFK RICE MOON SPEECH." JFK RICE MOON SPEECH. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Kranz, Gene. Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and beyond.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Print.
Logsdon, John M. John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2010. Print.
Tyson, Neil DeGrasse., and Avis Lang. Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier. New
York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.