The Space Race

The years after World War II was a time of great scientific and technological advancements. With these advancements came great tension and rivalry between the United States and the former Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (USSR). The biggest rivalry between the two superpowers was the advancement in space technology. In 1952, the International Geophysical Year (IGY) was established in which scientists stated that in the time between July 1, 1957 and December 31, 1958, solar activity would be at a high point. The IGY made it so that both the US and the USSR became determined to be the first to reach space, and so the space race was born. During the space race, the USSR made many launches that were very advanced and superior to the US. The Soviet Union was technologically superior to the United States during the Space Race in terms of the Sputnik, Luna, and Vostok programs.

The USSR's first space program was the Sputnik, which had as many as twenty- five launches. Out of the twenty-five, there are two milestone launches in which the the Soviet Union showed their obvious superiority to the US. The first milestone launch in the Sputnik program was Sputnik 1, which was the world's first artificial satellite to reach space. The launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4th, 1957 was the first big step in the space race and demonstrated the USSR's advanced technical abilities. " Sputnik 1 was about the size of a basketball, weighed 183 pounds and orbited the earth in only 98 minutes"(Siddiqi). Two months after the launch of Sputnik 1, the United States tried to match the Soviet Union by launching their own satellite, but their attempt failed. "Oh What a Flopnik,"(Garber). This was reported in the London Daily Herald after the US's first attempt to launch a satellite. This shows that the US tried to match the USSR's launch but could not. With the launch of Sputnik 1, and the failures of the US's first launch, the USSR proved to be technologically superior to the US at the start of the space race.

The second milestone launch in the Sputnik program was only one month later on November 3rd, 1957 when the USSR launched Sputnik 2. This launch was extraordinary because it put the first living mammal into space. "This satellite was much heavier than Sputnik 1, having two cabins, one for the equipment and controls and another for Laika, the dog. Laika's cabin provided her with oxygen, food, water and allowed the dog enough room to lie down and stand"(Siddiqi). It was predicted that Laika would live for ten days, but due to thermal problems inside the satellite she only survived for about two. At the time of Sputnik 2, there was no mention of the US even trying to send any living organism into space because they were still having trouble with regular satellite launches. This launch not only further emphasized the Soviet Union's superiority to the United States, but it also provided scientists with the first data of a living organism in space and foreshadowed the future in human space travel. By the anniversary of Sputnik 1, it seemed like the United States were catching up to the Soviet Union in terms of satellites launched. The US had now launched three Explorers and one Vanguard while the USSR had launched three Sputniks. Although the US had launched more satellite than the USSR, Sputnik 1 weighed more than all four of the US satellites combined and Sputnik 3 weighed and astonishing 2,950 pounds. The three US launches couldn't compare to the Soviet Union's launches because the Sputnik launches were so much more technologically advanced, once again showing their superiority to the US in space travel.

The USSR showed their superiority to the US once again with their Luna program which had many firsts in the exploration of the moon. The first accomplishment in the luna program was on September 14th, 1959 as Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to land on the moon. It had a spherical shape and during its voyage released an orange cloud of gas so scientist could determine the behavior of gas in space. On September 14th, after 33.5 hours of flight, Luna landed on the moon. About two months after Luna 2 landed on the moon, the US tried to do the same with th Pioneer 5 linear Orbiter, but failed. The US's failing attempt to catch up with the USSR proves that they didn't have the technological abilities of the Soviet Union and the USSR was unquestionably superior.

The next feat in the Luna program was Luna 9, the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the moon and to transmit photos to Earth. "The landing probe inside the Luna 9 contained radio equipment, heat control systems, and a TV system"(Jones). On February 3rd, 1966, the spacecraft softly landed on the