The Space Race and American-Russian Relations
The Space Race and American-Russian Relations
The Cold War was an influential time period for Americans in the later half of the 20th century. This war did not involve physical warfare; no fighting on the battlefield ever took place. Rather, it was a war based on intimidation and fear; it was an arms race between the two global superpowers of the democratic United States of America and the communist Soviet Union. This struggle to be the biggest and best ' was one that lasted from the few years after WWII up until the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. A main driving force behind this war was the space race, the competition between the two rivals to be the first to conquer the unknown outer space. The space race is closely related to the arms race between the United States and Soviet Union. The early beginnings of this are a direct result of man 's ever growing sense of technology and invention. In the mid 1920 's, an American scientist by the name of Robert Goddard improved the efficiency and performance of the rocket. In TIME Magazine 's October 23, 1939 edition, rockets were described to the general public as a tool of the war of the future. ' Here, it was explained that, "One device closely watched by advance scouts is the rocketnot small signal rockets, but big rockets carrying high explosives" ("Rockets?"). The article also shows the threat of foreign rocket development with, "But experimenters abroad, especially in Germany and Russia, are reported to be busily developing rockets for use in war" ("Rockets?"). With the onset of WWII, the use of the rocket for wartime purposes was beginning to be a daunting reality.
The major type of military rocket that was developed before and during WWII was the intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. German engineer Wernher von Braun was credited with the majority of the design. Following the war, von Braun and other Nazi officials were secretly transferred to work for the United States Army
The Cold War was an influential time period for Americans in the later half of the 20th century. This war did not involve physical warfare; no fighting on the battlefield ever took place. Rather, it was a war based on intimidation and fear; it was an arms race between the two global superpowers of the democratic United States of America and the communist Soviet Union. This struggle to be the biggest and best ' was one that lasted from the few years after WWII up until the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. A main driving force behind this war was the space race, the competition between the two rivals to be the first to conquer the unknown outer space. The space race is closely related to the arms race between the United States and Soviet Union. The early beginnings of this are a direct result of man 's ever growing sense of technology and invention. In the mid 1920 's, an American scientist by the name of Robert Goddard improved the efficiency and performance of the rocket. In TIME Magazine 's October 23, 1939 edition, rockets were described to the general public as a tool of the war of the future. ' Here, it was explained that, "One device closely watched by advance scouts is the rocketnot small signal rockets, but big rockets carrying high explosives" ("Rockets?"). The article also shows the threat of foreign rocket development with, "But experimenters abroad, especially in Germany and Russia, are reported to be busily developing rockets for use in war" ("Rockets?"). With the onset of WWII, the use of the rocket for wartime purposes was beginning to be a daunting reality.
The major type of military rocket that was developed before and during WWII was the intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. German engineer Wernher von Braun was credited with the majority of the design. Following the war, von Braun and other Nazi officials were secretly transferred to work for the United States Army
Cited: Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005. 469. "Command Correction." TIME 14 Sep. 1962. Johnson, Lyndon B. "Statement by the President on the Flight of Gemini 7," 4 Dec. 1965, 1135. Kennedy, John F1., "News Conference," 15 Feb. 1961, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F Krug, Linda T. Presidential Perspectives on Space Exploration. New York: Praeger, 1991. "Red Moon Over US." TIME 14 Oct. 1957. "Rockets?" TIME 23 Oct. 1939. Sacknoff, Scott, ed. In Their Own Words. Bethesda: Space Publications LLC, 2003. 15.