1. The Space and Nuclear Arms Race

2. Events Leading to the Space and Nuclear Arms Race
World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War began
The Cold War was a political competition between the United States and the U.S.S.R. in which the two countries fought for military leadership

3. Events Leading to the Space and Nuclear Arms Race
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

4. The Soviet’s Get The Atomic Bomb
The next goal each nation competed for was the creation of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) which could deliver a nuclear weapon from the nation's soil to its enemy's cities and military bases.

5. The Effects of the Nuclear Arms Race at Home
An example of this propaganda is “Bert the turtle,” a cartoon turtle that was created to stress the need to take cover from flying glass and debris in case of a raid.

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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. The New U.S. President
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.

15. The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases in Cuba, a mere 90 miles off the shores of Florida.

16. The Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy demanded that Premier Khrushchev, the Russian leader, remove all missile bases and their contents. He also ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba.

17. The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 28, Khrushchev backed down and conceded to Kennedy’s demands, thus ending the Cuban Missile Crisis.

18. 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.

19. Soviet Union Advancements
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to orbit earth. She rode aboard Vostok 5 on June 16-19, 1963.

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

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

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.