Matthew Nalls

Coming upon the heels of World War 2, a new, almost entirely hushed war “roared” to life by 1946.  A fierce duel between the United States and Soviet Russia ensued for nearly five decades, which English author George Orwell deemed a “cold war” in his book You and the Atomic Bomb.  This term stuck, and the war descended into infamy known precisely as the Cold War.  Despite the ominous state of the Cold War at the time, one invaluable benefit emerged from the silent struggle: The Space Race.  Beginning in the 1950s, the Space Race became a heated contest between the two superpowers.  The goal was to achieve undeniable scientific and technological superiority in space, the new arena of competition.  What made this contest a benefit to society was the rapid necessary technological advances made at the time.  These breakthroughs scientifically pushed society along faster than at any recorded time in history, all while making its own history in the process.

In 1957, Soviet Russia took the lead in the first leg of the race.  On October 4^th, carried into space by a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile from Kazakhstan, the first satellite-probe achieved orbit around the Earth.  Known as Sputnik, the rough Russian translation for “traveler,” the satellite shocked, frightened, and even terrified Americans.  Although its purpose was to study the upper atmosphere of the Earth, as the first man-made object put into orbit, coincidentally by a rival and hostile country on the back of a powerful ballistic missile, it is not difficult to understand the fear Americans across the country faced.  To their benefit, the United States was not far behind in the launching of its own satellite, known as Explorer-1.  Explorer-1 achieved its own orbit in 1958, serving as an equalizer in the tense match between the two countries.

Despite this step in leveling-out with the Russians, the United States again found itself in second.  In April of 1961, Soviet Russia put the first human into space.  Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin spent a total of one hour and forty-eight minutes in space in his spacecraft, Vostok 1.  After completing his set orbit and surviving an intense re-entry into the atmosphere, Gagarin became a sacred Soviet icon.  One month later, Alan Shepard became the first American to achieve orbit in space.  The United States’ supposed preeminence in science and technology came under doubtful questioning.  To not only combat this scrutiny, but also to restore and inspire American morale, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy boldly proclaimed the United States would be the first to successfully transport the first humans to the Moon and safely return them.  In an inspirational speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas on the notably hot day of September 12, 1962, President Kennedy confidently exclaimed: “We choose to go to the Moon! … We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win….”

Through increasing NASA’s budget by nearly 500 percent, significant progress was made regarding achieving President Kennedy’s vow to the world.  On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins set off on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.  On July 20^th, the three intrepid voyagers successfully landed on the cold surface of the Moon, becoming the first men to set foot upon another world.

By the return of Apollo 11, and the collapse of Soviet Russia’s space program afterward, new technologies were discovered and utilized, and the Space Race essentially ended.  Subsequently, the breakthroughs made during the Space Race paved the way for future technology to be forged.  For every major feat made by the two countries, new technology needed to be created to achieve each feat.  This technology, which would generally become exploited worldwide, included satellite TV, satellite navigation, the laptop, power tools, smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, telemedicine (and other health applications), non-reflective displays, ear thermometers, and many more applications.  The technology seen and produced worldwide sprouted from products created to overcome obstacles faced by both countries’ space programs (i.e., power tools to collect moon samples, laptops as small, yet powerful onboard computers, satellite communications to stay in contact with astronauts).

With this evidence, it is safe to agree through every milestone made during the Space Race, certain benefits in the realm of science and technology came from it through the discovery and creation of modern technologies, among certain other ways.  These technologies further advanced society along, serving as the catalyst to forge the technologically advanced society many live in today, all while making it plausible to argue the same could be achieved today if space exploration were as competitive and “interesting” as it was during the Cold War era.

Bibliography

Mead, Rob. “10 Tech Breakthroughs to Thank the Space Race for.” Techradar. Future PLC, 20 July 2009. Web. 19 September 2015.

Podelco, Grant. “Kennedy’s Famous ‘Moon’ Speech Still Stirs.” Radio Free Europe. Radio Liberty, 12 October 2012. Web. 19 September 2015.

“Space Race.” National Cold War Exhibition. Royal Air Force Museum. N.d. Web. 9 September 2015.

“The Space Race.” The History Channel. A+E Networks Digital, N.d. Web. 9 September 2015.