Pictured below: the Original Mercury Seven Astronauts
Sunday, April 17, 2016
The Space Race
The Space Race started on October 4, 1957, when the Sputnik, an unmanned satellite, made it's way orbiting around Earth. They later launched the Sputnik II (complete with a space dog, Laika), leaving the United States even farther behind in the space race, with several of their own rockets exploding disastrously on the launch pads, nicknaming them "Kaputnik". The thought of the possibility of Soviet Union missiles circling the world, prepared to launch missiles at any time struck fear into the hearts of Americans, feeding into the Red Scare and anti- Communism that had built up during the Cold War, and propelling the United States into the Space Race. On April 9, 1959, NASA announced the Mercury Seven, the first United States men designated to be astronauts. The US aimed to put the first man in space, only to be beaten by the USSR's Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit Earth in 1961, chased by the US Alan Shepard the first US man in space (though not in orbit) later that year. In early 1962 the United States put their first man, John Glenn (who later became the oldest man in space at age 77) into orbit around the Earth three times. The Mercury missions ended in 1963, when Gordo Cooper was sent to orbit the Earth twenty- two times. So far the United States had largely denied the possibility of a female astronaut, a belief that was not shared by the Soviet Union, who sent pregnant astronaut Valentina Tereshkova into orbit around the Earth forty-eight times, doubling Cooper's achievement a month earlier. The US was yet to have a win until the Apollo 8 mission in which Jim Lovell, Bill Anders, and Frank Borman became the first men to orbit around the Earth in late 1968. The Apollo 11 mission finally completed the ;ate President Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the moon (accompanied by Michael Collins). Although there were other missions after the Apollo 11, including the near- deadly Apollo 13 in which an oxygen tank exploded, the Apollo 11 was ultimately the flight that led to the US "winning" the space race.
Pictured below: the Original Mercury Seven Astronauts
Pictured below: the Original Mercury Seven Astronauts
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I had never heard of the Mercury Seven, which mission did they go into space on? Its also very interesting to learn about the diversity of people that were sent into space, from 77 year old men to pregnant women.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that the U.S. had not considered putting a woman into space before the Russians sent Valentina Tereshkova into orbit. I think this is interesting because during the time, U.S. citizens tended to view their country as better socially than Russia, while in fact, their space program seemed to be more inclusive. I wonder to what degree did this development prompt the U.S. to send women into space?
ReplyDeleteAlthough Russia was more inclusive with gender roles, and sending woman into space, it's kind of concerning how they sent not just a woman but a PREGNANT woman into space. Overall I like how you incorporated the parallels between the U.S and Russia concerning the gender roles.
ReplyDeleteI find this post very informative about the Space Race, it is interesting to me because earlier in the year I made a post about the Space Race but it was very different than this one. I like how you focus on the space missions by the United States and the USSR. Do you think if the US hadn't been the first to put someone on the moon the Cold War would have ended differently? If the United States had had the first man in space would the USSR have given up sooner?
ReplyDeleteI find this post very informative about the Space Race, it is interesting to me because earlier in the year I made a post about the Space Race but it was very different than this one. I like how you focus on the space missions by the United States and the USSR. Do you think if the US hadn't been the first to put someone on the moon the Cold War would have ended differently? If the United States had had the first man in space would the USSR have given up sooner?
ReplyDelete