Impact Of The Space Race On The Cold War

Understanding space, the untouched vast territory beyond our world, has been the goal of human technological evolution for centuries. In 1955, President Eisenhower announced that the United States would launch a man-made satellite into the unexplored universe, thus beginning the space race. At this same time, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were rising as the Cold War was ongoing. Since the competition between the countries was higher than ever, not four days had passed since Eisenhower’s announcement before Russia announced their own plans to go to space. The technology to do this amazing feat was yet to be discovered, but in developing this technology, weapons of mass destruction were also developed which threatened the world. Although no blood was shed during the Space Race, the competition between the US and Soviet Union
The space race had a major impact on the Cold War through the development of new technology including multiple types of missiles, and reconnaissance satellites.

Early Space Programs
World War II had past, yet many counties were still devastated by it; Russia had used outdated and old fashioned weaponry throughout the war, and felt the need to prove themselves as technologically superior to other nations. They did just that as they shocked the entire world with the launch of Sputnik, the first man-made object ever to orbit the Earth. In order to launch their satellite before the Americans, Russian scientists designed a “simple satellite made of two hemispheres containing sensors, a radio and a battery pack,” (Sputnik, the tiny sphere that launched the space race). Originally, the Russian satellite was designed to be “a large satellite with a mass of up to 3,000 pounds” that would take “measurements of the upper