Ussr Vs Nsas

The United States has had many enemies throughout the history of the country. A majority of the time the United States defeats their enemy by battling it out with them in a war. A major enemy of the United States during the nineteenth century was the USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The USSR and the United States were enemies ever since the end of the Second World War. These two nations were fierce rivals but never actually went to war despite the cutting off diplomatic relationships. These two super power countries of the nineteenth century may never of had an official war but the United States defeated the soviets with the help of one space exploring group group called NASA less commonly known as the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration. NASA beginnings start with the Soviets; the Soviets launched the first satellite into space in 1957. This thought of the soviets have some object that could spy on the America people scared many so in January 1958 the United States launched their own satellite into to space and in July that same year the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was founded which most people call NASA. (Isaacs) This launch of satellites would begin the space exploration rivalry between the United States and their soviets enemies; this rivalry of space exploration is commonly known as the space race. This race was between the two nations was an example of the potential humans had when it came to exploring what was beyond our world and the technology we were capable of producing (Schultz). The Space program was something the Russians took pride in so they invested heavily into it; this led to them beating America to many milestones in space explorations.
The Soviets were the first to put a human into space when they put Yuri Gagarin into space aboard the famous space craft called Vostok 1. The US shortly after followed this by sending their own astronaut into space a few weeks later; the astronaut that was sent to space was Alan Sheperd. This showed the fierce rivalry between the two opposing space of the United States and the USSR. The Soviet's space program often did beat the American NASA program in milestones like this. (history.com) In February 1962, the United States' President John F. Kennedy said to the nation that by the end of the decade he wanted the United States and NASA to put a man on the moon. This statement led to a frenzy between both sides within because both wanted to be first. Both countries' space programs received a huge finically boost; the United State's National Aeronautics and Space Administration received a boost of five-hundred percent to it's annual budget. NASA took a slight advantage over the Russians in the race to the moon in late 1968 when the United States were the first to orbit the moon with the launch of Apollo Eight. The Russian's space program had began to slip due to the untimely death of their chief engineer Sergey Korolyov. His death led to the lesser Soviet engineers making many mistakes that proved to be very costly in the race and even finically for the economy. The United States sought to win the space race and beat the Soviet's space program on July 16, 1969 when NASA launched the famous Apollo Eleven. The crew of Apollo Eleven was Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins. The task of these three men was to be the first humans to ever set foot on the moon; this goal was achieved a short four days later when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong stepped out of the spacecraft
and became the first ever human being to set foot on the moon. As he stepped off the spacecraft he gave the famous quote "one small step for man, one huge leap for mankind." These words that Neil Armstrong said on the moon will ring through eternity. The three men returned home safely but they returned home as heroes and champions of the space race. (Mansfield) The United States being the first to send a man to the moon might not show how NASA helped defeat the Russians but they did. NASA helped defeat the Russians because the Space Race was a costly endeavor. Both countries had to spend a bunch of money if they wanted to win and the United States had the money it took to win this battle of science and technology nut the Soviet's didn't have the best economy for the amount of money that would be needed to compete and win the famous Space Race. The Soviet's had taken money from to help fund this space expedition; the money they used for this project could of been used for other stuff that benefited the nation but the Soviets' pride in their space program led them to do otherwise. The failure in the Space Race only didn't hurt the economy of the USSR but the national pride; this failure was one of the big first steps in the tumbling of the USSR. The legacy of the NASA in the space race is one that will never be forgotten. NASA helped bring down one of our biggest enemies of the nineteenth century. The legacy of the space isn't only in the history books but still seen today with the many forms of technology that came out of this endeavor. NASA and the moon loaning inspired a generation of scientist and mathematicians to think outside of the box and come up with some of the greatest ideas. NASA's accomplishments are also a source of national pride that all Americans feel. They have shown the world an enemy can be beaten without the use of nuclear bombs or guns. The Space Race will always be an example of what the Americans people are capable of when they all work together and work towards a common goal.