Search results
Learn about the 20th-century competition between the US and the USSR to achieve superior spaceflight capability, from the first satellite launch to the Moon landings. Explore the origins, milestones, and consequences of the Space Race in this comprehensive article.
- Causes of The Space Race
- NASA Is Created
- Space Race Heats Up: Men (and Chimps) Orbit Earth
- Achievements of Apollo
- Who Won The Space Race?
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
By the mid-1950s, the U.S.-Soviet Cold War had worked its way into the fabric of everyday life in both countries, fueled by the arms race and the growing threat of nuclear weapons, wide-ranging espionage and counter-espionage between the two countries, war in Korea and a clash of words and ideas carried out in the media. These tensions would contin...
In 1958, the United States launched its own satellite, Explorer I, designed by the U.S. Army under the direction of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. That same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a public order creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a federal agency dedicated to space exploration. Eisenhower al...
In 1959, the Soviet space program took another step forward with the launch of Luna 2, the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth, traveling in the capsule-like spacecraft Vostok 1. For the U.S. effort to send a man into space, dubbed Project Mercury, NASA engineers...
From 1961 to 1964, NASA’s budget was increased almost 500 percent, and the lunar landing program eventually involved some 34,000 NASA employees and 375,000 employees of industrial and university contractors. Apollo suffered a setback in January 1967, when three astronauts were killed after their spacecraft caught fire during a launch simulation. Me...
By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. For their part, the Soviets made four failed attempts to launch a lunar landing craft between 1969 and 1972, including a spectacular launch-pad explosion in July 1969. From beginning to end, the American public’s attention was ca...
Learn how the U.S. and the Soviet Union competed in space exploration during the Cold War, from the launch of Sputnik to the moon landings. Explore the causes, events and achievements of the space race with photos and videos.
Aug 23, 2023 · Learn how the Space Race started as an arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and how it became a race to the Moon after President Kennedy's challenge. Explore the milestones, challenges, and outcomes of the Space Race, from Sputnik to Apollo.
May 14, 2023 · Learn about the space race, the competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to explore space first during the Cold War. Discover the origins, achievements, accidents and end of the space race, as well as the modern space race and its implications.
Mar 6, 2023 · Learn how the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union sparked a competition for space supremacy. Explore the milestones, technologies, and stories of the Space Race from satellites to Moon landings.
Learn about the major milestones of the space race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. from 1957 to 1969, including the first satellites, animals, humans, and Moon missions. See the infographic and the descriptions of each event.
Feb 20, 2021 · Learn about the key events and achievements that shaped the 20th Century competition between the US and the USSR for space supremacy. Explore the milestones from Sputnik 1 to Apollo 11 and beyond.
