2. The United States and Russia began to build long- range 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. Events Leading to the Space and Nuclear Arms Race

3. Sputnik On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, into orbit around the earth.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Soviet Union Advancements While the United States struggled to surpass USSR in nuclear and space traveling capabilities, the Soviets 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.

14. U.S. Lands On The Moon On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to reach the moon.

15. U.S. Lands On The Moon Meanwhile Michael Collins orbited the moon in the Command Module. The mission was called the Apollo 11 mission.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. After The Space Race Because the U.S. had demonstrated it’s superiority over USSR, there wasn’t such a rush to make further advancements.

19. 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.

20. 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.