Sputnik and the US/SovietSpace Race

By: Kelly Shea and Stephanie Rozycki

The Start of the Space Race

● Started on October 4th, 1957 when the Soviets launched the Sputnik.

● The purpose was primarily to investigate outer space and to discover if living organisms could survive.

● Began at the height of the Cold War

U.S. Reactions to the sputnik

● US reacted in shock to the news of Sputnik’s successful orbit of the earth

● Sputnik made the American people think their country had fallen behind Soviet technology

● "the simple fact is that we can no longer consider the Russians to be behind us in technology. It took them four years to catch up to our atomic bomb and nine months to catch up to our hydrogen bomb. Now we are trying to catch up to their satellite."-George E. Reedy

Soviet Reactions to Sputnik

● The Soviets were proud to have been the first to launch a satellite into space

● They wanted the U.S. to know that they were at a higher technological stage.

The U.S. Enters the Race

● NASA:Established in 1958● First Astronauts established in 1959 by NASA● On April 12, 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri

Gagarin orbits Earth● U.S. determined to get to Space.

The U.S. Enters Space

● May 5th,1961-Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7 is launched into orbit for as long as Yuri.

● July 21st,1961-Gus Grissom abroad Liberty Bell 7 enters space

● John Glenn is launched into space on February 20th, 1962

The Apollo 1 Mission

● Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee are selected for the Apollo 1 Mission

● Launched on June 27, 1967● First U.S. Astronauts to ever die in space travel● Led to more safety features on future spacecrafts

Apollo Missions

● During 1968 and 1969 a series of successful Apollo missions were launched.

● Apollo 11 spacecraft Columbia lands on the moon on July 21st, 1969● Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the first humans

on the Moon.● The U.S. had won the Space Race

Advantages and Disadvantages

● The US proved their strength after starting with a disadvantage

● The Soviets head start was fair because the US chose to ignore the Soviets warning signs

How did this affect Americans

● In the beginning the Americans felt blindsided, because they were not expecting sputnik’s launch

● In the long run, the US were proud that we powered through it and ended up being the 1st ones to land on the moon

Our thoughts

● The US should have been paying more attention to the progress of other nations

● The Soviets victory with Sputnik was perfectly planned to surprise the US

Citations● Oberg, James. "Sputnik." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online,

2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.● "Cold War: Sputnik Escalates the Cold War: Dilemma: Opening." World at

War: Understanding Conflict and Society.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

● Olson, James S. and Samuel Freeman. "U.S.-Soviet Space Race." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.