The Space Race, one of the most defining elements of the Cold War, helped push the previous boundaries of human achievement and technological advancement. What originally was a battle of ideologies between the communist and capitalist regimes of the states, became a battle for dominance as the countries hoped to succeed and surpass the other in a variety of fields. From the beginning with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in 1957 to Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk in 1969, this era of space exploration set the groundwork for the future of science and technology.
The moment that started the Space Race was arguably the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik rocket, the world’s first artificial satellite. The perceived enemy of the United States having a success in the advancement of technology not only shocked U.S. officials but also terrified them. Former senator Lyndon B. Johnson said, “Soon, they will be dropping bombs on us from space like kids dropping rocks onto cars from overpasses.”
Tensions grew higher when, four years later, the Soviet Union managed to send the first human into orbit, Yuri Gagar. This created more pressure for the United States to catch up. For this reason, then president John F. Kennedy announced his intentions of landing a man on the moon, starting the Apollo program. “The Apollo days were not, fundamentally, about going to the moon,” John Logsdon, a professor emeritus of political science and international affairs, said. “They were about demonstrating American global leadership in a zero-sum Cold War competition with the Soviet Union.”
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Apollo program, which had a budget of around 4.4% of the national budget at its peak according to “The Planetary Society,” eventually led to the historic Apollo 11 mission of 1969. Neil Armstrong’s first words upon stepping onto the moon, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind,” became renowned and heavily associated with the future of humans in space.
Though the space race officially ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, its legacy continues to inspire and shape modern global space exploration with new missions being planned to the moon and beyond.
The consequences of the space race are visible even today; however, modern goals are more in line with continued human presence in space rather than competition. The space race was essentially another of the Cold War’s proxy wars, fought not with weapons but achievement. (Graphic/Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay)
