Space Race
Michael Weber
Pangburn 4th Period
Academic Decathalon
October 2nd, 2012
The Motivations and Benefits of the Space Race
On July 20, 1969, the world was on the edge of their chairs. Tuned in on the radio and the television, man kind had witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in history. Apollo 11 was the success of what humans could accomplish. But, before the U.S. and the world landed on the moon, there were disputes among countries for political and military dominance in outer space. The recompense of being advanced in rocket science were military power and commercial power. Being ahead of the space race meant that you had a military technology benefit. With the ability to have rocket knowledge, you can have a perk of nuclear weapon logistics over other countries without the advantage of precise rocket control. The USSR equipped Sputnik with under a dozen ICBMs. It was a very sensitive time for the U.S. to know that Russia had ICBMs. Being able to have this advantage in military power was desireable by the U.S. and Russia. Satellites have many applications in the commercial market. Being able to have many satellites can have an advantage to a nation and control the market. While this makes the U.S. more powerful post space race, the rest of the world looks at the U.S. as a very threatening potential enemy. We benefit from space exploration by our technological advances. We needed better technology to lift humans above the clouds. For example, we needed a more compact computer for the advanced guiding systems. Vacuum tubes were primitive and computers were the size of rooms. So, we improved the size of the computer to fit space capsules. This, of course lead to the continuous future of computers and made what we use every day. During the space race, we never knew what the future would uphold. We went into the race looking for a dominance in military, politics, and technology. We benefit from this dominance in the U.S. and technology around
Pangburn 4th Period
Academic Decathalon
October 2nd, 2012
The Motivations and Benefits of the Space Race
On July 20, 1969, the world was on the edge of their chairs. Tuned in on the radio and the television, man kind had witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in history. Apollo 11 was the success of what humans could accomplish. But, before the U.S. and the world landed on the moon, there were disputes among countries for political and military dominance in outer space. The recompense of being advanced in rocket science were military power and commercial power. Being ahead of the space race meant that you had a military technology benefit. With the ability to have rocket knowledge, you can have a perk of nuclear weapon logistics over other countries without the advantage of precise rocket control. The USSR equipped Sputnik with under a dozen ICBMs. It was a very sensitive time for the U.S. to know that Russia had ICBMs. Being able to have this advantage in military power was desireable by the U.S. and Russia. Satellites have many applications in the commercial market. Being able to have many satellites can have an advantage to a nation and control the market. While this makes the U.S. more powerful post space race, the rest of the world looks at the U.S. as a very threatening potential enemy. We benefit from space exploration by our technological advances. We needed better technology to lift humans above the clouds. For example, we needed a more compact computer for the advanced guiding systems. Vacuum tubes were primitive and computers were the size of rooms. So, we improved the size of the computer to fit space capsules. This, of course lead to the continuous future of computers and made what we use every day. During the space race, we never knew what the future would uphold. We went into the race looking for a dominance in military, politics, and technology. We benefit from this dominance in the U.S. and technology around