Space Race Between the USSR and the USA - Research Paper Example

Space Race Between the USSR and the USA Introduction At the heart of the 20th century cold war competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was the space race, a period when the two countries competed in space explorations. The supremacy for spacecraft superiority between the two countries strongly ensued as other countries watched from a distance. At a time when the Soviet Union and the United States needed to demonstrate to their enemies their technological advancement and national security, the space race marked a major era in the history of space exploration. At the initial phase of this strong technological and security, competition, Russia was ahead of the United States, but this later changed when the United States sent the first man to moon. This research will demonstrate the space race timeline and highlight some of the major events of this period. The initial advantages that Russia had over the united states will also be discussed and other programs that the united states have launched in order to achieve their space interests. Space race timeline The fall of the Nazi German after the Second World War saw the United States and German emerge as major superpowers who had the technological abilities to control major innovations in the world. The two countries were embroiled in a major silent political, geographical and military tussle that was christened the cold war, an era when technological advancements were at their peak. Based on the newspaper headlines of the 50s and the 60s, the Soviet Union was way ahead of the United States on the development of space capability, a situation that bolted the later into action, opening the area for major competition. The initial periods of the space race was marked with major secret spying between the United States and the Soviet Union as the two countries were concerned of the major technological research activities being undertaken by the other. The united states were still concerned with the pearl harbor attack and was interest in revenging against the soviet union, a country that was using all means possible to keep their depleted army resources a top secret1. President Dwight Eisenhower of the United States introduced the open skies in 1955, marking the beginning of an era of space exploration and major discoveries. This policy allowed the Soviet Union and the United States to fly reconnaissance aircrafts over each other’s airspace as a way of gathering intelligence information. In the same year, the United States announced that it will be working on the development of a scientific satellite, prompting the Soviet Union to follow suit. In 1957, the United States was mulling the idea of developing and launching non-military satellites which could be used to gather intelligence in enemy territory without being shot down. This was seen as a move towards establishing a free space exploration culture in which flights would occur without the fear of negative consequences or need for permission. The same position was shared with the Soviet Union, which believed that the development of an orbiting attack will enable them to safely gather intelligence without fear of rebuke from the enemy. A strong race ensued on which country will launch its orbit first, a race that the Soviet Union won when she launched the Sputnik in October of 1957. This pushed the United States into tension and anxiety as it attempted to make a major announcement and launch its satellite into space despite the challenges that the technical team was facing. The Soviet Union was not taking any chances as it launched the second satellite, the Sputnik 2 in January of 1958 with a dog, the first animal to explore space. The United States made two attempts to launch their satellite, but it was unsuccessful and this led to a belief among the American citizens that President Eisenhower was not appreciating the importance of space power. However, the country’s efforts bore fruit when on 31st of January 1958, the explorer 1 was not only launched into space, but it also reached the orbit and gathered crucial scientific data. This led to the formation of the NASA in July of 1958, a federal agency that would spearhead the process of space research and development. The success recorded by the United States in the year also enhanced science education in the country as students were enrolled in various programs to improve their understanding of science. The cold war rhetoric that characterized the two countries affected the relations between Russia and is neighboring countries such as Georgia and Ukraine2. The current conflict between Russia and the Georgia is majorly based on the rhetoric that has emerged between the United States and Russia, a situation that is replicative of the cold war era in the county3. The duo examines the role the united states media and government has played in exposing Russia and providing negative publicity despite the progress the country has made this far. Though Russia and Georgia have internal and independent issues to address without the intervention of the United States, the media has been used to cast aspersions on the intention on Russia, thus setting up Georgia against Russia and affecting the relationship between the two countries4. Today, though the intensity of the war is nowhere near that time, there is still a cold war between the US and Russia. Recently, the US has fallen victim of Russian spies whose infiltration into US signifies a continued mistrust between the two. Therefore, it could be argued that another effect of the cold war is the never-ending snooping of each country against the other. All this is done in order to locate the perceived enemy’s weakness and capitalize on it either now or when the need arises. This trend is a threat to a country since much effort and resources will be directed to stopping the so-called foe as opposed to investing in other areas as is the case in the US and Russia5. The development of the rest of the world stalled thanks to these events, even though it was never part of it. Other countries never supported any of the two sides, as they feared the end-result of ensuing silent scuffle. Had the nuclear weapons been used in the ever-surging war, the world would not be spared the adverse effects6. This was the new front of competition between the United States and the Soviet Union as both countries developed stronger spaceships which could be used to orbit the moon and finally land7. As was now the case, the Soviet Union was the first to launch Luna 1 in January of 1959 whose target was to orbit and land on the moon at a time when the United States was still developing its spaceship. Though Luna 1 missed its target, it became the first aircraft to fly beyond the earth’s orbit and even orbit the sun like other members of the solar system. In response to the initial initiative by the Soviet Union, the United States launched pioneer 4 whose target was the moon like the case of Luna 18. However, pioneer 4 also missed its target and fell into the solar orbit, achieving the same feat that was initially achieved by the Soviet Union. Russia was finally successful in sending lunar 2 into the moon in October of 1959, performing a flyby and collecting data from the surface of the moon using photography. Though lunar 2 did not land on the moon, the achievement thrust the Soviet Union above the lunar race as they appeared to be winning the race. However, plans by the Soviet Union to send manned aircraft into space was kept secret as a way preventing the United States from moving ahead and doing the same9. The year 1960 was marked with relative calm as both countries attempted to improve their satellite technology and the spying mission was top notch. While the United States was secretly developing the corona, a military reconnaissance satellite, the Soviet Union was also working on its Zenits. The zenith was designed to be able to be able to carry standard film cameras which had strong resolutions and could photograph distant objects. One of the major political players in the post-cold war era is Europe, a continent that was turned into an object during the cold war due to the dominance that Russia and the infiltration that the United States10. However, the post-cold war era has ushered a new Europe, which has ended its object status and today considered as a major actor in international relations. The role of Britain and other European friendly states in helping the United States to strengthen its domination over the Soviet Union has been replaced by s block that charts its own course11. With the formation of the European Union and the development of a single currency, Europe has stamped its authority in international relations, often differing with its cold war era partner, the United States12. As initially believed by the United States, the Soviet Union was working on a plan to send a manned spaceship to the moon, a feat it achieved in April of 1961 when Yuri Gagarin flew to the orbit aboard the Vostok 113. Russia had achieved another feat by sending the first human being to space at a time when the Americans were still preoccupied with their military satellite. Though the Soviet Union reported clear success during the mission, evidence was later collected to indicate that the aircraft spinned out of control and scared both the cosmonaut and the ground control engineer. While the Soviet Union managed to cover the mishap, the feat prompted President John F Kennedy to announce that the United States astronauts will be able to reach the moon14. However, the years that followed were marked with relative inactivity as other fronts of competition emerged in Cuba and other countries. Tension between the two countries escalated in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis when the United States satellite photographed a soviet sponsored missile center in Cuba15. The missile center was under construction in Cuba by the Soviet Union and was located only 90 miles away from the US coast. In 1963, the United States launched the manner orbiting laboratory which would be used for scientific purposes and designed to collect necessary information for the country. However, the exact mission of the MOL was to collect information and gather intelligence on the Soviet space progress and plans and those of countries allied to the communists. The MOL was later abandoned and the country concentrated on its lunar mission, efforts which were successful when the United States successfully sent Apollo 11 to the moon in July of 196916. While Yuri Gagarin was the first man on space, the United States managed to pull a first by sending the first men to the moon including Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the surface of the moon. This achievement marked a lull period in the competition between the two countries as the United States began to dominate the exploration process, including the introduction of the moon rockets in the same year by Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin17. The world marveled at the achievement of the United States as the Soviet Union looked from afar, unable to launch similar trips to the moon or the space. The Apollo-Soyuz was the final lunar trip that thawed the frost space race between the two countries as the achievements of the United States had overtaken the Soviet Union who could not make significant discoveries to meet their rivals. Early advantages of the USSR and how the US later led the space race At the beginning of the space race, the Soviet Union was ruling the waves, always launching major developments ahead of the United States. For example, the Sputnik 1 and 2 were launched before the United States could send any aircraft to space, situations that demoralized the American public18. Yuri Gagarin was also the first man to man a ship to the space, though his attempts to reach the moon were unsuccessful due to technical challenges that the Soviet Union concealed to increase the pressure on the United States. Despite the upper hand that the Russians had over the united states, the US was able to emerge victorious by being the first country to successfully send Apollo 11 to the moon with Neil Armstrong as the first human being to step onto the surface of the moon19. However, the union was able to remain on top of the game, beating the united states in major launches until 1969 when Apollo 11 shattered the record. The initial victory of the Russian explorations was attributed to its secrecy and cover up which enabled it to develop its programs secretly and control the information that the media released to the public. While the United States was a liberal democracy where all information pertaining to the space explorations were available to the public, the Russian society was closed and filled with dictatorial tendencies20. As a result, most of the mishaps and accidents which could have demoralized the campaign were not reported or even leaked to the media, a situation that was not replicated in the United States. For example, when valentine Bondarenko died due to pressure chamber fire, the information was kept secret and was never leaked to the public, creating a perception of flawless victories to the United States and other international communities. This affected the technological development of the country as most of its engineers were either engaged in the battlefield or within the army barracks working on weapons and amassing nuclear missiles21. In Russia, the elimination of Joseph Stalin gave the country time to improve its technological research and acquire space information before the United States22. The Soviet Union also used spy states like Cuba to gather information on the progress of the United States exploration program without the use of satellites, a process that enabled them to launch their spaceships ahead of the United States. However, this speedy competition that the Russian adopted led to the decline of their dominance of the lunar mission as they experienced numerous unreported mishaps which led to the death of some of the cosmonauts23. The liberal environment within the United States allowed for a televised update of the expedition which provided accurate information to members of the general public. As a result, any mishaps that occurred during the space race were common knowledge and were the basis of the strong American spirit and support towards the program. With this environment, NASA was well placed to conduct extensive research and address the previous flaws, enabling it to successfully send Apollo 11 to the moon in July 1969. United States space programs The United States began its major space exploration programs after the end of the Second World War in parallel with some of the developments that were introduced by their archrivals, the Soviet Union. The United States first space program eases the satellite explorer which was launched in 1958 to collect military and science information from space through photography24. In 1961, Alan Shepard entered into the history books by being the first American to fly into space followed by John Glenn who made a historic moon orbiting flight. When John F Kennedy became president, he provided impetus to the space exploration program of the United States when he declared that the chief goal of the country was to send man to the moon and back25. This was successful in July when Neil Armstrong and other two astronauts made a giant step for mankind by stepping into the moon on board Apollo 11. Before this major feat, the United States had sent a number of unmanned spacecraft into space for surveillance and intelligence collecting missions26. Later, the United States developed the Skylab, a program that was developed for scientific, military and academic missions to collect information from space. The manned moon laboratories will be used to coordinate satellite communication and collect information from space, the first manned satellite-like program. The United States later launched the challenged and the space shuttle Columbia which were developed for both civilian and military missions into space to collect intelligence and scientific data. However, the explosion of the shuttle challenger in 1985 lulled the United States exploration program and led to loss of interest among the American public when seven crew members were killed in the accident. Different Apollo missions were also carried by the United States after the success of the initial mission aimed at increasing information and knowledge of space. However, the United States television got bored of the moon missions and stopped broadcasting them live, a decision that also led to loss of interest among the member of the public. When politicians followed suit in losing interest in further trips to the moon, the program was shut down and no mission to the moon has been instituted since this period though the United States has been engaged in various space mission programs. However, the availability of goodwill from the political class and the interest that the program stirred from members of the public pushed the United States moon missions beyond initial plans. This was in contrast to the confined and strictly controlled environments that operated in Russia, which significantly stopped the members of the public from following the space exploration program. While the Americans managed to witness the process first hand, the Soviet Union government was responsible for passing the information to its people. Most of the time, the information that was passed was changed, concealing some accidents and mishaps to prove that they were ahead of the United States. Conclusion The cold war era witnessed the significant technological development and competition between the two major superpowers who worked extra hard to outdo each other. While the United States lagged behind the Soviet Union during the pioneer days of the space exploration, it later emerged victorious when Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the moon surface. The Soviet Union initially looked like potential victors to the competition, but this was majorly an orchestrated campaign to portray its progress even though little was actually being achieved. 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