2. The Race To Space USA vs. USSR

3. Origins of the Space Race  After World War II, both the USA and the Soviet Union used captured German rocket technology to develop long-range rockets capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The advent of the Cold War started an all-out arms race between the USA and the Soviet Union, both in nuclear weapons and in conventional weapons.  Soon, both countries realized they could use the rockets to propel vehicles for space exploration.  Each country was rushing to put the first satellite into space. Later, they would race to put the first man in space. Finally, they rushed to put the first man on the moon.

4. Sputnik  Much to the dismay of the USA, October 4, 1957 saw the USSR put the first man-made object into orbit. It was called Sputnik, which is the Russian word for “Traveler”.  Sputnik II was launched on November 3,1957. Unlike the original Sputnik, it carried a living being. The occupant was a small dog called Laika. It was the first living being in space.

5. The First Human Being in Space  The first human being to travel in space was the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He orbited the Earth for 108 minutes on April 12, 1961.  The descent module of Gagarin’s Vostok I rocket.

6. The First Man on the Moon  On July 20, 1969, the American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon.

7. American/Soviet Space Activity for the Remainder of the Cold War  As the Cold War dragged on, both the USA and the USSR sent up hundreds of surveillance satellites to spy on each other’s military installations and movements. The first space-station, Skylab, was launched by the USA.

9. The End of the Space Race The collapse of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War. Suddenly, there was no longer a need to compete with the Russians in space or on earth.