1. How was the space race related to the Cold War?
Essential Question
How was the space race related to the Cold War?

2. 7-5.4 Analyze the political and technological competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for global influence, including the Korean Conflict, the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam War, the Cuban missile crisis, the “space race,” and the threat of nuclear annihilation.

3. Americans are both surprised and frightened
When did the space race start?
October 4, 1957 – Soviet scientists launched the world’s first space satellite - SPUTNIK
Americans are both surprised and frightened
The Soviet Union, a nation which had nuclear weapons, now had a satellite orbiting space

4. Soviet YURI GAGARIN became the first human to travel into space
What else did the Soviets do?
April 12, 1961 – Soviet Union launches the first spacecraft into orbit - VOSTOK
Soviet YURI GAGARIN became the first human to travel into space
The Soviet Union had successfully launched the first satellite and spacecraft

5. Why did this create the space race?
The world’s two superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union were now in competition with each other to conquer outer space
“I believe that this nation should land a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth.”
President JOHN F. KENNEDY promised that the United States would have a man on the moon before the 1960s were over

6. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”
How did the US respond?
July 20, 1969 – Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon – APOLLO 11, “The Eagle”
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”

7. The race for space had its roots in military uses
Why worry about outer space?
The race for space had its roots in military uses
Before Sputnik was even launched, both the US and the Soviet Union had plans for reconnaissance satellites (spy satellites)

8. What were the costs of the space race?
Not only did the space race fuel hostilities between the US and the Soviet Union…
The rush to increase technology led to many deaths….
Jan. 27, 1967 – Three US astronauts of Apollo 1 die in a fire during a ground test

9. What were the costs of the space race?
June 30, 1971 – Three Soviet cosmonauts die of asphyxiation during the re-entry of Soyuz 11

10. What were the costs of the space race?
March 27, 1968 – Soviet Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, dies while testing a MiG-15 fighter jet
“Communism opened a way to the stars”

11. What were the effects of the space race?
Technology advanced greatly during this period
The space race also changed the way students learned (greater emphasis on mathematics and physical science)
Today, thousands of satellites are orbiting Earth relaying communications data across the planet