The story of America’s first Nuclear reactor powered submarine the USS Nautilus is well known. She was launched in 1954 and travelled under the North Pole without surfacing in 1958! She was the first Submarine to achieve this. She is now preserved in a museum and attracts 250,000 visitors a year.

The US Congress authorised a Nuclear Submarine program in 1951. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, personally oversaw the project. What isn’t widely known is the program had two bidders, General Dynamics built the Nautilus USS571 whilst ‘Nautical Engineering’ based at Pensacola tendered their bid for the lucrative Navy contract. This practise is common place in the aircraft industry but unusual for the Navy.

Both General Dynamics and Nautical Engineering were funded partly to the tune of $12,000,000 each! The two prototypes would have cost considerably more including ground breaking nuclear fission reactors. The remaining funds were to be raised by the companies themselves. This is standard military practise, the winning prototype would set up either of the companies for life! In the cold war funding for national defence was not an issue.

The two prototypes USSN Endeavour 570 and USSN Nautilus 571 were progressing at approximately the same rate, both keels had been laid down as early as 1952. On May 12th 1953 the Nautilus suffered a major set back when a flaw was noted in one of the secondary pressurised hull plates! The secondary hull is water tight and highly pressurised, it houses all the submariners and the torpedo compliment not to mention the Nuclear reactor!

In 1953 laser alignment was not available and all crucial  alignments and welding was carried out by hand. In layman’s terms the Nautilus was bent! The secondary hull would need to stripped down and rebuilt from the keel upwards! This left the race open to Nautical Engineering and their USSN Endeavour 570 to complete ahead of schedule!

Why have you not heard of this before? Firstly its only now after 50 years the documents are now made public and secondly and more importantly the USSN Endeavour 570 prototype was lost on her attempt to traverse the North Pole ice shelf in one journey without surfacing!

Please remember that 2011 is a very different world to 1956, the military still has secrets but paranoia and fear of Nuclear War made military secrets an absolute necessity!

USSN Endeavour 570 was launched in July 1955. This was witnessed by Harry S Truman himself. Sea trials began and reports began filtering back to Washington of the marvellous speed and endurance of the USSN Endeavour 570. She was capable of 26 knots submerged! This meant she could match almost all surface vessels! In 1955 this was an amazing achievement.

Surprisingly to me after only one two week trial in the Pacific Ocean with surface destroyers and aircraft carriers as escort. USSN Endeavour 570 was ordered to attempt the first navigation under the North Pole without surfacing! Who suggested this hazardous journey is still unclear. Many pundits claim its was because of Russia’s Sputnik program that was leaving America behind in space exploration? America wanted to grab the headlines away from the Russian’s.

On October 1st 1955, USSN Endeavour 570 set sail under the North Pole Ice Cap. In theory there was easily enough food and the Nuclear reactor made oxygen for the crew to breath. Everything was going according to plan until Midnight on October 3rd when all communications were lost! Two rescue submarines were despatched with haste.

For two weeks continually these diesel electric submarines searched under the ice and used torpedoes to smash the ice and change out their breathing air and recharge the batteries. Not a trace was ever found of the Endeavour, After two weeks the search was called off and USSN Endeavour 570 was declared a total loss and the families were informed.

Back home after 54 years under the ice.

The second prototype USSN Nautilus 571 was completed and sea trials went very well. The Nautilus was slightly slower at 23 knots submerged. As is well documented now in 1958 the Nautilus traversed under the polar ice cap and the American government achieved a world first and a notch in their favour in the cold war.

The story of USSN Endeavour 570 came to light again in 2010. An Anglo-Canadian research submarine was under the polar ice-cap in search of mineral deposits in a deep trench when a cylindrical shape appeared on the sea bed. It was a huge Naval submarine! It was in fact the Endeavour which was lost in 1955!

She is now corroding in salt air.

The American Navy dispatched a rescue underwater recovery barge and luckily the Endeavour was damaged heavily at the bow of the sub but the secondary hull appeared unbreached. Tow lines were fixed on the Endeavour and she was towed over a three week period to the States where test and reclamation are ingoing into the disaster that happened over 50 years ago.

I wonder how many other secret tests and prototype military vehicles are missing?

Lord Banks

            The Space Race was an informal contest between the USSR and the United States, which attempted to increase progress in the world of science and technology in each country in order to best the other. It not only helped send satellites/rockets to space, but it also created new technologies which would help make future ones possible. It lasted from 1957 to 1975; it ended a little after man was put on the moon. After that the countries cooperated together in space exploration.

            The Soviet Union was the country to initiate this competition after it launched the satellite, the Sputnik, in October of 1957. The American country was troubled by the advancement of the Soviets in the aeronautics field of technology that they started their own space program, NASA along with several smaller ones. The finally launched a satellite of their own into space in 1958. The space exploration part came after the countries started using their ICBM’s (originally intended to use to deliver nuclear rockets to other nations) to pursue advancements into space.

            I don’t really think that anyone was really hurt by all of this, but civilization has benefited from the rise in knowledge. This event triggered the increase in the science and aeronautics fields. . I doubt that anyone was really hurt by the advances in knowledge but I know that several discoveries made helped in paving the way for future technologies. Such inventions/innovations that came from this were the computer, home ovens, baking dishes, and so on. It introduced new understanding of planets beyond the horizon and also, it was good that a new morale was developed for new knowledge and taking science to more advanced places. Like an old saying goes, “Competition brings out the best in people”. 

            The initial goals of sending satellites in the air weren’t to explore space; rather it was an initiative of making new types of weapons and a continuation of the arms race. Both countries realized that this new technology could be used for spying and it wasn’t long before they attempted to create more efficient projects. When the Sputnik was first launched, it proved that it was possible to hit just about any target in the world. In addition, this new technology allowed rockets to fly over the earth’s atmosphere, avoiding detection by radar, hit the enemy. This added lots of tension and terror to that which already existed due to the increasing amount of nuclear weapons. The technology of intercontinental ballistic missiles packed a lot of power that threatened to wipe out entire cities. Aside from the new fields of weaponry, these tools were used in different scenarios too: exploration of the galaxy. The space race accomplished many things, the most prominent being ‘man sent into space’ (USSR) and ‘man sent to the moon’ (U.S.).

Many new technologies that exist present day come from the technology used to make the rockets and space tools. Both countries put their technology to the limits and the by-products are what really help us today. Not only has the Space Race left a stronghold for space launches and discoveries but it has also provided benefits that we come across daily. From computers to ingestible toothpaste, science has come a long way due to the effects of the Space Race.

The Space was one of the many factors of the high tensions involved with the Cold War. It gave the superpowers another chance to fight with each other over superiority; only this time, it wasn’t about causing destruction, it was about creating threats of causing destruction. The whole struggle still remained part of the bigger picture, Communism vs. Capitalism. (Space Race, Deborah Cadbury, p 131) It also had to do the with egos of the respective nations since it allowed them to posses bragging rights. Each wanted to show that their system was better, whether it was capitalism or communism. As much benefits as the Space Race brought, it only amplified the pressures of the Cold War. In the end, the United States won the ‘race’ due to the Soviet economic downturn and afterward, both nations worked together in space exploration.

            The space race was an event that put lots of focus and emphasis on increasing scientific and technological potential. It was completion that brought out the best in both countries by pushing their wills to the limit. New discoveries were effects of the battle for power and nuclear superiority. As the countries tried to outdo each other, intellect only grew larger.

Sputnik 1/Sputnik 2

Sputnik 1 becomes the first human-made object to orbit the Earth and triggers the frenetic “space race” between the Soviet Union and the USA. One month later Sputnik 2 carries the dog Laika, who becomes the first living animal to travel into space. 

January 31st 1958.

Explorer 1

Explorer 1 lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, to become the first US artificial Earth satellite. NASA is founded in October of this year.

September 2nd 1959. September 13th 1959.

Luna 1/Luna 2

Luna 1 becomes the first human-made object to fly near the Moon. 

Luna 2, carrying Soviet pennants, becomes the first human-made object to make an “impact” on the moon.

April 12th 1961.

Vostok 1

Cosmonaut Yuir Gargarin becomes the first man to enter space. Gargarin makes one complete orbit of the Earth and returns safely.

May 5th 1961.

Freedom 1

Astronaut Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. Later that month, US President John F. Kennedy challenges his nation to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.

December 1965.

Gemini VII

Carrying astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell, Gemini VII completes 206 orbits of the Earth in 14 days. This doubles the length of time humans have spent in space and proves that a long-duration crewed space flights are possible.

April 1966.

Luna 10

Luna 10 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon.

January 27th 1967.

Apollo 1

The crew, Virgil Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed when faulty wiring sparks a fire in their spacecraft during their training.

April 24th 1967.

Soyuz 1

Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov becomes the first space-flight fatality after Soyuz 1 crashes one day after launch.

September 1968.

Zond 5

Zond 5 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon and return safely to Earth.

October 1968. December 1968.

Apollo 7/Apollo 8

Apollo 7 is the first successful manned Apollo mission. It orbits Earth 163 times. Two months later, Apollo 8 becomes the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon during its six day mission.

July 1969.

Apollo 11

Apollo 11 carries Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz Aldrin into the history books as the first men to land and walk on the moon. Third crew member Micheal Collins remains in lunar orbit in the command module.

April 1970.

Apollo 13

A command module explosion two days after launch has astronaut Jim Lovell radioing back to Earth, “Houston, we have a problem”. The Moon landing was aborted and the crew return safely in a logistical feat dubbed, “a successful failure”.

September 1970. October 1970.

Luna 16/Luna 17

Luna 16 completes the first collection of lunar soil samples by an automated spacecraft. The following month Luna 17  lands on the Moon and releases Lunakhod 1, the first robot explorer, which drives across the Moon’s surface for 11 days.

January 1971.

Apollo 14

Veteran Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American into space, becomes one of only 12 to walk on the Moon.

July 1971. December 1972.

Apollo 15/Apollo 17

Apollo 15 crew drive the first moon rover. A similar rover is driven by the Apollo 17 astronauts the following year. Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan is the last human to have set foot on the Moon.

To begin with the USSR sent dogs on Sub-orbital flights, 28 of these flights took place. The dogs flew onboard R-1, R-2A, R-2 and R-5 rockets. The dogs wore hand knitted clothes during these flights, then during the flights involving the R-2 and R-5 rockets they were contained insidea pressured cabin. The R-1 and R-2A rockets were fored 100Km into space, during this time the dogs experienced a G force of around 5G’s. The dogs then briefly experienced weightlesness before falling back to earth and experiencing 5G’s again.

The first dogs to experience a Sub-orbital flight were Dezik and Tsygan. Their flight took place on July 22, 1951. Both dogs returned to earth unharmed. After the flight Tsygan retired and become a pet for the Soviet physicist Anatoli Blagonravov.

Smelaya and Malyshka were the next pair of dogs to be sent into a Sub-orbital flight, however the day before the flight Smelaya ran away, she was found and went on to have the succesfull light with Malyshka. Again the day before Bolik was due to fly in September 1951, she ran away. She was not found. However an untrained dog from the barracks was put in his place, know as ZIB (Russian for Substitute for Missing Bolik). Albina, Tsyganka and a rabbit called Marfusha made a flight on July 2, 1959.

In developing a space craft for humans the USSR developed saftey system including escape capsules designed for use in space and underwater. The space systems were tested with Albina and Tsyganka being ejected out of the space craft at an altitude of 85 km. They both landed safley.

The next flight was ment to be an Orbital flight involving Damka and Krasavka, however there were a series of system faliures and a 214Km the upper stage rocket failed and the craft re-entered the atmosphere. In this event the dogs were suppost to be ejected and the craft to then self destruct, howver both of these system also failed. A secondary self destruct mode was included, this was set to a 60 hour timer. A rescue team was sent to the and rescue the dogs. On arrival it was too dark to disarm the self-destruct mechanism and open the capsule. The team reported that the temperature was -45 degrees and that no life was detected. However when the capsule was opened the following day, the dogs were found alives, they were flown staight to Moscow. Bars and Lisichkawere not as lucky as Damka and Krasavka, they died 28.5 seconds into an Orbital flight after their rocket exploded on July 28, 1960.

Laika was the first dog or animal to go into orbit aboard Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. She died from stress and overheating around 5 to 7 hours into the flight. However this was not officially accepted until October 2002, previously officials claimed she had died from a lack of oxygen.

Belka and Strelka made the first succesfull orbital flight in Sputnik 5 on August 19, 1960. As well as the two dogs, a grey rabbit, 42 mice, 2 rats, flies and a number of plants and fungi also went on the flight. The scientist were intrested to see wther zero gravity affected reporductivity, Strelka had six puppies with a male dog named Pushok who participated in many ground-based space experiments.

Pchelka and Mushka spent a day in orbit on December 1, 1960 on Sputnik 6. However due to a navigation error, their spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry on December 2. Chernushka went on one orbit in Sputnik 9 on March 9, 1961 with a cosmonaut dummy. The dummy was included to show how a human would experience space. The dummy was ejected and then recovered succesfully. Zvezdochka, named by  Yuri Gagarin made one orbit onboard Sputnik 10 on March 25, 1961. Again the dummy was ejected and then succesfully recovered.

The final dogs to be put into space spent 22 days in orbit , a record that hasnt been beaten since. The dogs were Veterok and Ugolyok. They went in Cosmos 10 on February 22, 1966. they returned to earth on March 16. A space flight of this length was not completed by humans until June 1973 in Skylab 2.

The first Human in space was Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin on April 12, 1961. He spent 1 hour, 48 minutes in space.

I was born early in the morning on May 12, 1957, nearly half way into the year.  I knew nothing of World War II, the war that ended barely 12 years earlier, or the baby boom that followed, but, there I was – a blank slate.   Born the fourth and last child of a failed marriage that ended in divorce court the December before, I was cast into an all female household as the nation was about to enter the turbulent 60’s, leaving the innocence of the 50’s behind. 

Although I really don’t remember, 1957 was the year of Sputnik, the world’s first manmade satellite, The Frisbee, the world’s first flying disc, and, of course, the 1957 Chevrolet Belair, one of the sweetest looking cars of all time.  To set the stage and get your mind thinking in my 1957 sort of way, check this out:   The average price of a new house was $12, 220.00, average rent was $90 a month, and the average annual income was $4,550.00.  Assuming a 40 hour work week, and a 52 week year, that’s about 2080 hours a year.  Using the $4550 annual income, that means the average hourly wage was about $2.18 an hour.  Gas was twenty four cents a gallon, eggs were twenty eight cents a dozen and bacon was sixty cents a pound. 

Elvis Presley purchased “Graceland” in 1957, “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss debuted, and Charleton Heston shined in, “The Ten Commadments”.  Toyota sold its first car in America while Americans were paying an average of $2,749 for “big-finned” American cars from Detroit.  On TV, viewers warmed up to “Perry Mason”, “Maverick” and a new show featuring Dick Clark called, “American Bandstand”. 

This world of Slinkys and Hula Hoops was the world I was born into where almost no one had ever heard of Viet Nam.  TVs were still all black and white using vacuum tubes instead of transistors, telephones were still connected to the wall and used dials on the face to connect, and segregation was still a big, big issue in Arkansas, among other places.  In 1957, “Beatles” was still just the misspelling of the name of some insect, but that would change in seven short years.  The “Leave it to Beaver” 50’s were about to be left behind and a whole new world was on the horizon. 

Image via Wikipedia

Soviet Union(1957)

Soviet Union launched artificial Satellite Sputnik 1 through rocket Sputnik – PS and is also the first artificial Satellite of the world launched in the orbit.

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United States(1958)

United State launched its first artificial Satellite Explorer 1 through Rocket Juno I.

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France(1965)

France launched its first Satellite Astrix through Rocket Diam-ant. Originally it was named as A-1 as the French Army’s Satellite but later on named after the cartoon character “Astrix”.

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Japan(1970)

Japan launched Satellite Osumi named after Osumi province of Japan through Rocket Lambda-4S.

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China(1970)

China launched Satellite Dong Fang Hong I for the first time through Rocket Long March I and the Satellite also broad-casted the song “Dong Fang Hong” for about 26 days after its launch.

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United Kingdom(1971)

United Kingdom launched Satellite Prospero X-3 through Rocket Black Arrow and is the only Satellite launched through British rocket.

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India(1980)

India launched Satellite Rohini through Rocket SLV. Four of the Satellites of this series were launched by India out of which three were successfully launched in orbit.

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Introduction

Nearly every child has dreamed of what it must be like to be able to fly. Watch a sparrow flit between the trees, a crow flying in its proverbial straight line, or an eagle circling high above the peaks, and you have witnessed the elusive. Such grandiose dreams have captivated mankind’s imagination for centuries.

Ancient Greek mythology contains references to human flight, the Italian Leonardo Da Vinci drew designs for a flying machine in the late 15th century, and during the 19th century, aviation pioneers began seriously experimenting with gliding. In 1903, the Wright Brothers achieved the ultimate when they succeeded in realising the dream of powered, controlled, heavier-than-air flight. From that date on, the skies were no longer the realm of birds alone.

The power to ascend the bounds of the atmosphere was not enough for mankind for very long. His innate desire to conquer all that stood in his way pushed him onwards. Now that the skies were mastered, what next? Although the concept of escaping the earth’s atmosphere had been explored before-Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1873-no one seriously considered, much less attempted such a feat until well into the twentieth century. This was most probably due to the fact that the atmosphere needed to be within reach first.

To escape the pull of earth’s gravity, it is necessary to attain a speed of 11.2 kilometres per second at the earth’s surface. This speed is termed escape velocity, and decreases with higher altitude. This speed does not, however, take into account atmospheric resistance. Thus, in order to conquer the last frontier, it was necessary for mankind to devise some method of conveyance with enough power to exceed escape velocity, and then some.

Not that this method of conveyance had yet to be invented. It seemed obvious to the pioneers of space flight, as well as the imaginative Jules Verne, that to escape the clutches of earth’s gravity would require the use of a rocket. The science of rocketry was an old one, and it was to this that the pioneers of space flight turned.

The history of the rocket

The history of the rocket extends far back through military history. It was a process of slow but steady developments, culminating in the heady rush of the technological rivalry of the 20th century.

“Long before the Christian era burning materials were being catapulted into besieged towns, and tubes of incendiary mixtures tied to the shafts of arrows had set fire to many a wooden sailing ship.”(Gatland, K, 1978, p.224)1 Initially-apart from in China, where religious festivals were celebrated with fireworks-the science of rocketry, was used for purely military purposes. This has often been the case with technological development-military conflict hastens the growth of science. Once the military grasp the importance of a particular technology in gaining an edge over the enemy, they invariably encourage, and facilitate the development of that technology. It is a somewhat sad reminder that much of humanity’s accomplishments have been carved into the pages of history with the edge of the sword.

One of the first mentions of the European rocket occurs in the Chronicle of Cologne, written in 1258, when rockets in Europe were exclusively a military weapon. Intermittent use of rockets was made during military history from this point onwards, though it was not until the latter half of the 18th century that serious progress was made.

Though used by other nations before, Sir William Congreve, an English artillery expert in the late 1700s, was one of the first to seriously develop an offensive weapon on the lines of a rocket for the British military. Soon he had created the Congreve rocket, a weapon used in several famous conflicts, including the British attack on Fort McHenry in 1814, which was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner”-now the US national anthem.

By 1818, Britain had an official rocket brigade, and other countries soon followed their example. It was obvious, that the rocket was an important weapon to develop. Mind you, most conflicts still relied heavily on conventional artillery, but the rocket was a modern weapon that would be an important part of future battles, and it seems that military experts during this period realised this. William Hale, a contemporary of William Congreve, developed the spin-stabilised rocket-eliminating the need for the type of balancing stick used in earlier designs.

Initially, military rockets were powered by gunpowder-notably the Congreve and Hale rockets, but this method of propulsion was only practical for bombardment under the range of 4.6 kilometres. Of course, mankind wasn’t satisfied with that. Humanity’s dreams of conquest and power demanded practical military ascendancy-something the rocket could provide. In the English case, these rockets were being developed as weapons to be used in the defence of the burgeoning British Empire.

The modern science of rocketry was not, however, a mere military concern. A few very important scientific pioneers, had dreams for the rocket that were much more ambitious than merely blasting their fellow-humans out of existence. Their ultimate goal was space flight-a dream which amounted to pretentious fantasy in the eyes of their fellow-humans.

The development of the modern rocket

Russian research scientist Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky pioneered rocket and space research, and can be seen as the first modern rocketry pioneer. Born on September 17, 1857, he did not live to see the first man-made satellite orbit the earth, however, much of his research laid the foundations for others to follow. In 1883, he mastered the main principle of rocket motion-it is not the air resistance of the expelled gases that propels the rocket, but the recoil effect of the gases. The credit for much of the foundation work in developing the science of modern rocketry must be given to men like Tsiolkovsky.

In 1903, he actually outlined a design for a spaceship powered by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the combination of fuels used in the moon landings 65 years later.

American Robert H. Goddard has been named the father of modern rocketry, and with good reason. In 1919 he published A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes, and he built and launched the world’s first liquid-fuelled rocket on March 16, 1926. The liquid-fuelled rocket, thus, born was the basis for rocket development powering the space race that began in 1957.

As Goddard was carrying out his experiments, developments began in Germany, where they were to progress rapidly. A scientist named Hermann Oberth published The Rocket into Interplanetary Space in 1923. In this ground-breaking book, he outlined the mathematics of travel in space. The German Society for Space Travel (VfR) was formed very soon after the publication. It seemed feasible, indeed obvious to these pioneers that space travel would soon be a reality; such was their faith in the power of scientific advancement. Pioneers such as these also possessed a good measure of determination-if space flight wasn’t possible now, then they’d jolly well make it so some day.

While German scientists such as Max Valier, Dr. Paul Heylandt, and Johannes Winkler were experimenting with rockets during the 1930s, scientists in other countries were also making progress. The Soviet Union-later to become the first nation in history to launch an artificial satellite in 1957-launched the rocket GIRD 09, on August 17, 1933. This rocket was followed by GIRD 10 on November 25.

Back in Germany, the members of the VfR, including leading rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, continued their own experiments during the early 1930s, and in August 1931, their “One Stick” Repulsor rocket rose to an altitude of more than 1000m. The VfR was, however, feeling the effects of the Depression, and unless they could find some kind of substantial financial support, the research could not continue.

In an effort to gain support from the military, Wernher von Braun and two other fellow-scientists put on a demonstration of their “One Stick” Repulsor rocket for the military. It was the beginning of military support that continued until the defeat of Germany in WWII. The German military realised the potential of using rockets as long-range weapons, which they put into practice against the English during the war, using them to bomb London.

Again, as has been seen often throughout history, it was the military that supported the growth of technology. Any invention capable of giving a tactical advantage over potential opponents is likely to be looked upon favourably by any military. Braun tailored his rockets as weapons, rather than potential spacecraft, turning one of the most advanced scientists of the day away from space flight to the science of warfare. Potentially, if Braun had gained support from a non-military source, space flight may have been achieved earlier.

The United States, a little slow to catch onto the idea of using rockets as military weapons, made up for this lag at the end of WWII. The US army seized German research equipment, and captured German rocket scientists, in a race with the Soviet Union to gather as many resources as possible in the lead-up to a frantic technological contest.

As is the experience of human history, it is military conflict that stimulates rapid growth in certain industries or technologies. It points out that, in the eyes of leaders throughout the ages, the most important invention is one which can be used in war. This mindset is more pronounced in wartime. “It was World War Two that gave the stimulus for rocket development, which culminated in the V2 and post-World War Two, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of the Cold War.”(History Learning Site, 2000-2008)2

The Cold War

The Cold War laid the groundwork for the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. “Following the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945…the uneasy wartime alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other began to unravel.”(Encyclopaedia Britannica)3 With the common enemy defeated, the erstwhile allies returned to their former suspicions of each other. When the Soviet Union began staking out various claims in Eastern Europe after WWII, the United States and Britain became even more suspicious. Cold War tensions had begun. The Soviet Union ultimately longed for world-wide Communism, but the West was certainly not going to watch that happen.

The Cold War rapidly escalated. By 1948, the Soviets had installed left-wing governments in much of Eastern Europe. Britain and the United States feared that the Soviet Union would go on to dominate virtually all of Eastern Europe.

Ensuing events continued to aggravate relations between the West and the Soviet Union. Following the Russian blockade of West Berlin in 1948-9, the Western powers formed N.A.T.O., the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. This joint military organisation aimed to resist Soviet aggression in the North Atlantic area.

One of the major tensions of the Cold War began in 1949 when the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic weapon. “Previously the huge Russian superiority in land forces in Europe…had been counterbalanced by the American monopoly of atomic weapons. Now America still had a lead in nuclear technology, but the Russians were reducing it as fast as possible.”(Richards, D 1977, p. 345)4

The antagonists in the Cold War never actually pitted their forces against one another, however, they did give support to other communist v. democratic type conflicts around the world. The differing forces fighting in China, Korea, and Vietnam were supported to a greater or lesser degree by both the United States and the Soviet Union. It was an age in which two ideologies strove for mastery-and the US and the Soviet Union struggled for the position of world superpower.

In this furore of tensions, the Space Race began-one of the greatest cases of technological rivalry in human history. “The Space Race grew out of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union…For a half-century, the two superpowers competed for primacy in a global struggle.” (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2002)5.The story began on October 4, 1957.

The Space Race

“For over a decade, the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in a heated competition-the space race. The space race began in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik.”(Newseum)6 Sputnik 1 was the result of painstaking preparation on the part of the Russian scientists. Its launch was a massive propaganda victory for the Soviets-the communist regime had been the first ever to successfully send an artificial satellite into orbit. Communism had triumphed-it seemed.

The Soviets continued their lead in the space race by, on November 3, 1957, launching the first living creature into space. Sputnik 2 was a satellite carrying a dog named Laika, with the purpose of monitoring the effect of space orbit on a living thing. This was extremely rapid progress, considering that the first liquid fuelled rocket in history had been launched a mere thirty-one years earlier, and had only reached a height of 12.5 metres. Now mankind was actually sending a living creature into orbit above the earth. The sky was no longer the limit.

As a matter of fact, the U.S. President Eisenhower had already announced the planned launch of the American Vanguard satellite during the 1957-8 International Geophysical Year. As, however, the Soviets had forestalled them, the Americans responded quickly with a small test satellite which, however, failed at the launching stage on December 6, 1957, when the rocket booster exploded.

Wernher von Braun, the ex-German scientist, and his team began work on a rocket to launch a new satellite. Braun’s launcher was finished constructing in eighty-four days, and was used to send into orbit the first American satellite on January 31, 1958. Explorer 1 became the first American satellite to orbit the Earth.

Four months later, the Soviets launched an even bigger satellite. On May 15, 1958, Sputnik 3 went into orbit. This satellite contained a 1,327 kg geophysical laboratory. It was evident that the Soviets still had the upper hand in the race, for though the US responded with several small satellites similar to Vanguard and Explorer 1, never with something as large as Sputnik 3.

If the Americans, therefore, were to have any chance of outstripping the Soviets, they needed to step up their space programme. One of the major moves towards this objective was the initiation of NASA-the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This move enshrined the space race in American government administration.

Still, however, the Soviets forestalled any further advances on the part of the Americans. On January 2, 1959, Luna 1 was launched. This satellite contained scientific equipment for measuring magnetic fields, cosmic and solar radiation, gas composition, and micro-meteoroids. The satellite missed the moon by 5,955 kilometres, and went into orbit around the Sun. It was another first for the Soviets.

Greater achievements were yet to come from the Soviet Union. On September 12, 1959, the Soviets launched Luna 2-the first space probe to strike the moon. The Soviets continued to advance, and on October 4, 1959, Luna 3 orbited the Moon within 7,886 kilometres of the surface, taking photographs of the its erstwhile hidden side.

The Soviets enjoyed another propaganda victory in 1961, when they launched the first man into space on April 12. Major Uri Gagarin of the Soviet Airforce became the first human to orbit the earth. He made a single orbit of the earth at 65º to the equator. This event occurred a mere fifty-eight years after the Wright Brothers famous achievement in 1903.

This was one of the most important propaganda victories the Soviets had yet experienced. It was also the prod that set the United States on a course for landing humans on the moon. “Speaking about the prospect of sending astronauts to the moon in 1961, Kennedy said, “No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space. And none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.””(Newseum)7

NASA began working on putting man into orbit almost immediately, and on February 20, 1962, the first American orbited the earth-almost a year after the Soviet achievement. Major John Glenn, of the Marine Corps made a 4hr 55min flight, completing three orbits of the Earth. From this point on, the contest became more even, as both sides rivalled each other in manned spaceflight.

The Soviets scored another first when, on June 16, 1963, they launched the first woman into orbit. Valentina Tereshkova completed 48 orbits of the Earth in the Vostok 6 spacecraft. About the same time the American astronaut Gordon Cooper completed his 34hr 20min flight on May 15-16.

Ed White became the first American astronaut to “walk” in space, on June 3, 1965, 11 weeks after a Russian cosmonaut had already achieved the same thing. After this, American manned space programmes became more frequent, and of longer duration.

During the 1960s, the Apollo Programme began. This was the project that would eventually put men on the moon. Wernher von Braun worked on the Saturn rockets that were to be used. These rockets were built in stages, which powered the craft for a time, before another stage took over.

In 1966 preparations were made to send the first Apollo astronauts into orbit for the purpose of testing Command Service Modules. The first manned flight of the Apollo programme took place on October 11, 1968. Walter Schirra Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham piloted the craft in a flight of 163 Earth orbits.

Meanwhile, the Soviets were working on their Soyuz spacecraft. Soyuz 2 was an unmanned craft, which was followed into orbit on October 26, 1968 by Soyuz 3 piloted by Georgi Beregovoy.

The race to the Moon became more tight when in September 1968, the Soviets launched the Zond 5 space probe in an orbit around the Moon. The flight took seven days, and the capsule returned to Earth, landing in the Indian Ocean, where a Soviet research ship picked it up. The capsule contained turtles and other biological subjects to monitor during the flight. Zond 6 was launched 2 months later, completing a similar flight path, before returning directly to the Soviet Union.

The Americans soon responded with the flight of Apollo 8-the first manned orbit around the Moon-on December 21, 1968. With the completion of one more test flight, the United States would be ready to put men on the Moon. This last test flight took place in May 1969. Three Apollo 10 astronauts achieved lunar orbit, before two of the astronauts flew the separate Lunar Module to within 15.24 kilometres of the Moon’s surface.

Finally, the NASA was ready to launch the long-awaited mission. On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins blasted off in their Apollo 11 spacecraft. As they neared the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin detached from the spacecraft in the Lunar Module “Eagle”. At the same time, a Soviet unmanned space probe was attempting a landing. In footage seen all over the world, the Eagle descended towards the Moon’s surface, and landed. Armstrong radioed back: “Houston, Tranquillity Base here-the Eagle has landed.” Around six hours later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” he said as he placed his left foot on the Moon. His words became one of the most famous American statements in history. He had actually intended to say “…one small step for a man…”, but he forgot the a in the thrill of the landing.

The Space Race had ended. “By reaching the moon first, the United States won the space race. Soviet and U.S. leaders knew that being the first country to land on the moon would be an extremely important media event.”(Newseum)8

The descent stage of the Lunar Module was left behind on the Moon. On one of its landing legs was a plaque: “Here Men from the Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 ad. We came in Peace for All Mankind.”

Conclusion

Space exploration programmes did not end here. In fact, they increased, and are still being implemented today, in the 21st century. The Moon landing was a milestone in space exploration, however, as it marked the end of an era in which space was an unreachable territory. Mankind had conquered the last frontier left to him. Never content to remain at one level of achievement, he strove to gain the next. The Moon landing of 1969 left a legacy of triumph-it was the end of an epic. And what a consummate finale it was!

Blondi was the dog of German dictator Adolf Hitler. He was given to Hitler as a gift by Martin Borrman. He was a typical German Shepherd dog. Blondie had lived with Adolf Hitler until his death. After his death, Blondi was killed by physicians with a cyanide capsule.

Lassie

Lassie was a movie star. He played in numerous movies, TV shows, radio programs, and even books. He was the favourite animal movie star in the 1950s and 1960s. He starred in Painted Hills, The Sun Comes Up, Lassie, Magic of Lassie and many Lassie series.

Laika

Laika was the first dog in space. She was launched by Russian spacecraft Sputnik 2 on November, 1957. However, it was a great disappointment when she died because of stress and overheating problems inside the rocket. Scientists officially announced that Laika died because of a malfunction in the thermal control system. In 1980s and 1990s, several movies were made by in memory of Laika.

Pickles

In 1966, the World Cup in Central Hall was stolen by burglars. The Football Association hired detectives to find it. But, by chance, a dog named Pickles sniffed out the stolen cup. Later, David Corbett, Pickles’ owner, was rewarded by the Football Association.

Natural Illusion : Sexy Blonde Girls in Black Stockings

On October 4, 1957, at the Soviet’s rocket testing facility in a desert near Tyuratam in the Kazakh Republic, the Soviets were prepared to furtively launch an artificial satellite into outer space (Feldman 17). The Soviets made a satellite, called Sputnik, was an 22-inch aluminum sphere that weighed only 183 pounds.

Traveling at a rate of 18,000 miles per hour Sputnik traveled an elliptical orbit that took ninety-six minutes to orbit the entire earth. Sputnik was unable to be seen with the naked eye, but was able to be seen with an aid of a telescope (Dille 53-56). Sputnik got in touch with the outer space atmosphere than the U.S. and the USSR have ever known existed (Launius 1-2). “The launch of Sputnik 1 had a Pearl Harbor effect on Americans; it was a shock” said Launius, Roger; an expert on Lunar and Planets. Launius, Roger said “It shocked them into introducing the average citizen to the space age in a crisis setting.”

The space race was significant to both the Americans and the Soviets. The space race began with Sputnik’s launch and had a big impact on space history. Without a doubt, the USSR spent money on the Space Race was spent wisely and immensely helped all nations further understands about space (Hyperhistory 1).
The start of the space race was very intense; and both the U.S.A. and the USSR was very passionate to help mount the knowledge on space. Both of the leaders of the U.S.A. and the USSR agreed to contend each other in the space race. It was a country rivalry for who come across more information on space technology (Mason 12-15).

After the agreement to the space race the USSR accomplished many goals and was really successful in the race. There was an ICBM made, Sputnik one and two launch, Space Station, and the US and USSR teaming up as one whole. The ICBM’s stands for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (Wikipedia 6). The ICBM’s was made for nuclear weapons, but it accomplished many feats first for space knowledge. It can travel 3,500 miles at a speed of 550/mph (Dille 54). There are many famous ICBM’s, but the most famous one that performed many achievements for space knowledge was the Spanker SS-8 (Wikipedia 5).

After the ICBM’s the Soviets launched Sputnik and it was one of the main reasons the US came into the space race. It was launched on October 1957 (Dille 53-56). There were two different Sputniks and the second one had a living creature in it. It was a dog that was named Laika, which means barker in Russian, flew into space as the first breathing creature. The next success the Soviet Union carried out was when the enormous space station (Wikipedia Foundation 3).

The space station was used as a home to be up in space in the 1971. Not only the Soviet Union uses the space station, but now it is used internationally. This is why the space station is called the ISS (International Space Station) (Hyperhistory 2). The main five space agencies are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (United States), the Russian Federal Space Agency (USSR), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japan), the Canadian Space Agency (Canada) and the European Space Agency (Europe). Many changes are in the process of changing and improving the Space Station (Wikipedia Foundation 6).

The USSR and the U.S.A. both were the top two competitors and helpers for the space race so they ended up teaming together and making a whole commendable team. On July 15, 1975 both the U.S. and the USSR had their first mission together. The name of this mission was named the Apollo-Soyuz mission, which lasted nine days. Apollo Soyuz was the first international manned spaceflight. It was designed to test the agreement of meeting and docking for American and Soviet spacecraft, to open up the way for international space rescue and future joint manned flights (Mason 17-20).

The space cycle is a self-made scheme. I think the knowledge on space increases all the time because of the space cycle. It consist of the two competitors the USSR and the U.S.A contending to find more knowledge on space. After a country finds information on the space knowledge the next country is determined to find something in addition to be on top of the other country to have advantage for the race. This cycle goes round and round and will get more sophisticated each time. Most of the time the discoveries where based on the last success information on space by the other country.

There were different Soviet Union space agencies that contributed to the space race. There is the Intersputnik, which was created on the 1971, the RKA (Russian Federal Agency), and the most recent organization the Glavkosmos. The organizations help build the ISS and help the joining of the U.S. and the Soviet Union (Wikipedia Foundation 6-7).

There were several variations between the U.S.A. and the USSR in how they handled the launch. The U.S.A. told the public about the success/failure on
the launch, while the USSR told after the success where made so that the launched where perfect. Americans were able to see the launch live on television and also was seen live at the site of the launch (Dille 57-60). There were also differences in how they spent the cash and how much they spent. First the cash value varied immensely. The USSR spent about 7 million rubles a year (4 million dollars), while the U.S. spent 5 billion dollars a year.

This may only seem a little difference in cash, but because of the extended period of time the space race lasted. The occasion of the space race lasted 18 years which made the U.S.A. pay a whopping total of 90 billion dollars. The USSR paid 72 billion dollars which is an enormous difference of 18 billion dollars (Wikipedia Foundation 6).

The USSR says the space race ended the same time the Cold War ended. They also say it ended when the Apollo 18-Soyuz docked and united with each other (Launius 3). American says it ended when the U.S.A. reached the moon (Wikipedia Foundation 7). I believe it never ended, because there is so much more to be revealed. Just because the Americans and the USSR amalgamated doesn’t mean that the space race is over it is just that there is no more competition between the two countries (Launius 3).

I think there is no afterlife in the space race because it is still in existence. The space race is still going on and always will be because there is an infinite thing to find in space because space is a very enormous space. Right now the Russians are sending automated probes to Venus and Mars. The space race in the present day is more into achieving long-term goals (Wikipedia Foundation 8). The Americans are working with the Soviets to make a reusable space shuttle so it will cut down the cost. The U.S.A. and the USSR both know that there is much more to discover and that they are on a mission to find out lots more (Hyperhistory 1). I think the Soviets used 72 billion dollars effectively and spent the money on the discoveries arrogantly and shrewdly.

According to
dictionary.com
space race means the competitive nature of the nations involved in space exploration. I think this definition is explaining the whole point of why people were involved in the race and why people should be involved. “I could have gone on flying through space forever.” said Major Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, quoted in The New York Times on April 14, 1958 when he was up in space. All this shows how the USSR spent money on the space race shrewdly, powerfully, and efficiently.