Download Events Leading to the Space and Nuclear Arms Race

Anthony Scott, Brendan Skelly,
Edward Wagner, Peter Kotas, Tyler
Malm
Events Leading to the Space and
Nuclear Arms Race
• World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War
began
• The Cold War was a political competition between
the United States and the U.S.S.R. in which the
two countries fought for military leadership
• Tension was high during the Cold War due to a
lack of substantiated information; rumors,
mistrust, and misunderstandings fueled the war.
Events Leading to the Space and
Nuclear Arms Race
• The United States and Russia began to build longrange rockets.
• The U.S. favored bombers
• The Soviets favored missiles and thus took an
early lead in rocket technology
• A rocket able to carry a bomb across the globe
could also be used to loft machines and men into
orbit. The United States and the Soviet Union
engaged in a long competition to develop rockets
for both warfare and the exploration of space.
The Soviet’s Get The Atomic
Bomb
• The next goal each nation
competed for was the creation of
the Intercontinental Ballistic
Missile (ICBM) which could
deliver a nuclear weapon from the
nation's soil to its enemy's cities
and military bases.
The Effects of the Nuclear Arms
Race at Home
• An example of this
propaganda is “Bert the
turtle,” a cartoon turtle
that was created to
stress the need to take
cover from flying glass
and debris in case of a
raid.
The Effects of the Nuclear Arms
Race at Home
• His animated film contained this
jingle:
''There was a turtle by the name of Bert. And Bert the
Turtle was very alert.
When danger threatened him he never got hurt. He
knew just what to do.
He'd Duck and Cover. Duck and Cover.
He did what we all must learn to do. You and you and
you and you.
Duck and Cover!''
Sputnik
• On October 4, 1957, the
Soviets launched
Sputnik, the first
artificial satellite, into
orbit around the earth.
Sputnik
• Sputnik weighed 184 pounds and was 23 inches in
diameter. It sent out a "beep-beep" radio signal
through its four antennas that scientists and ham
radio operators throughout the world could hear.
• Sputnik’s signal continued until the transmitter
batteries ran out on October 26, 1957.
Sputnik
• Sputnik remained in orbit until January 4,
1958, but burned up when re-entering
earth’s atmosphere
• Following Sputnik’s successful orbit, the
Soviets launched a series of Sputnik’s.
Sputnik
• Sputnik II, launched on
November 3, 1957, carried
a dog named Laika on
board. Laika was the first
living organism in space.
She survived for only a
few hours instead of the
planned ten days because
of overheating and stress.
The United State’s Reaction to
Sputnik
• President Eisenhower felt that Sputnik was insignificant.
However, many people disagreed and felt that it was a step
closer to a nuclear attack by the Russians.
• At this point, the Soviets were basically winning the space
race. The president was able to recognize this, and sent a
bill to congress to form NASA, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration. Congress passed the bill.
• Senator Lyndon Johnson played an important role in the
effort to get the bill passed. He later became president of
the united states after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
The First Man To Orbit The
Earth
• On April 12, 1961, Yuri A. Gagarin was launched
into space aboard the Soviet vessel Vostok I,
making him the first human to orbit the earth.
The First Man To Orbit The
Earth
• The ship made a single orbit around the
earth, and the flight only lasted about 1 hour
28 minutes.
• This was another great victory for the
Soviet Union and a big step towards
defeating the U.S. in the space race.
The New U.S. President
• In January of 1961, John F. Kennedy was
inaugurated president of the U.S.
• After the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Kennedy wanted
some substantial victory that would draw attention
away from the failure as well as demonstrate
America’s superiority over Russia.
• He announced on May 25, 1961 that he planned to
send a man to the moon before the decade was
through.
• Congress agreed to fund this goal.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy
informed the world that the Soviet Union was
building secret missile bases in Cuba, a mere 90
miles off the shores of Florida.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• Kennedy demanded that Premier Khrushchev, the Russian leader,
remove all missile bases and their contents. He also ordered a naval
quarantine of Cuba.
• In response to Kennedy’s demands, Khrushchev authorized his field
commanders to launch tactical nuclear weapons if the U.S. invaded
Cuba.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The two leaders stayed in this deadlocked state for
seven days.
• On October 28, Khrushchev backed down and
conceded to Kennedy’s demands, thus ending the
Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kennedy’s Death
• On November 22, 1963, not long after the
Cuban Missile Crisis came to an end,
President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated.
• His death infuriated the nation, but also
drove them to complete the goal of putting
man on the moon.
The First American In Space
• On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard became
the first American in space.
• Launched on top of a Redstone missile, he
made a short, suborbital flight in a Mercury
capsule.
• Later, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn
became the first American to orbit the earth.
Soviet Union Advancements
• While the United States
struggled to surpass Russia
in nuclear and space
traveling capabilities, the
Russians were continuing to
achieve more and more.
• Soviet cosmonaut Valentina
Tereshkova was the first
woman to orbit earth. She
rode aboard Vostok 5 on
June 16-19, 1963.
U.S. Lands On The Moon
• On July 20, 1969,
astronauts Neil
Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin became the
first men to reach
the moon.
U.S. Lands On The Moon
• Meanwhile Michael
Collins orbited the moon
in the Command
Module.
• The mission was called
the Apollo 11 mission.
The United States Wins the Space
Race
• With the landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin on the moon, the United States
officially beat the Soviet Union in the space
race.
The United States Wins the Space
Race
• The Cold War continued after the Space
Race until the break up of the Soviet Union,
which would not occur until 20 years later.
After The Space Race
• Because the U.S. had demonstrated it’s
superiority over Russia, there wasn’t such a
rush to make further advancements.
After The Space Race
• America lost interest in
the moon, finishing the
missions there with
Apollo 17, and shifted
it’s concentration to
building the Skylab space
station.
After The Space Race
• The Soviets never did send a man to the moon.
They did, however, send a number of robot
vehicles to survey the moon’s surface.
• These robots were called Lunokhod, and they sent
back all video footage and photographs they took
of the moon.
After The Space Race
• After many years of desperate research,
testing, hard work, and sacrifice, the
Russians had lost the space race and the
United States had emerged victorious.