Anthony Scott, Brendan Skelly, Edward Wagner, Peter Kotas, Tyler

Malm

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

• Tension was high during the Cold War due to a lack of substantiated information; rumors, mistrust, and misunderstandings fueled the war.

• 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

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.

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.

The Effects of the Nuclear Arms Race at Home

• His animated film contained this jingle: ''There was a turtle by the name of Bert. And Bert the

Turtle was very alert. When danger threatened him he never got hurt. He

knew just what to do.He'd Duck and Cover. Duck and Cover.

He did what we all must learn to do. You and you and you and you.

Duck and Cover!''

Sputnik

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• In response to Kennedy’s demands, Khrushchev authorized his field commanders to launch tactical nuclear weapons if the U.S. invaded Cuba.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

• The two leaders stayed in this deadlocked state for seven days.

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

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.

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.

Soviet Union Advancements

• While the United States struggled to surpass Russia in nuclear and space traveling capabilities, the Russians 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.

U.S. Lands On The Moon

• On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to reach the moon.

U.S. Lands On The Moon

• Meanwhile Michael Collins orbited the moon in the Command Module.

• The mission was called the Apollo 11 mission.

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.

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.

After The Space Race

• Because the U.S. had demonstrated it’s superiority over Russia, there wasn’t such a rush to make further advancements.

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.

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.

After The Space Race

• After many years of desperate research, testing, hard work, and sacrifice, the Russians had lost the space race and the United States had emerged victorious.