Cold War Space Race Analysis Term Paper

Introduction

Historically, the space race was a stiff competition between America and the Soviet Union which lasted for a long period. The period was long because it lasted between the years 1957 to 1975¹. The space is believed to have occurred out of the Cold War and it was so intense because both the Soviets and America wanted to outdo each other. The competition between the Soviets and America was based on missiles arms that were to prove their superiority. It is in 1957 that the Space race started. It was triggered by the Soviets when it launched Sputnik which was their first satellite. To Americans, this was a big surprise because they did not expect it to happen. Having received such a surprise from the Soviets, Americans did not rest until they sent their first man to the moon. This was barely a month after the Soviets had launched their satellite. The American president at that time was Kennedy who had authorized an American to land on the moon. Initially, the Soviets had a very strong beginning as it launched its first satellite but this changed as America became a victor². The space race was essentially the finale of the cold war which began after World War Two. It was distinguished by an oblique war involving the Soviets and America. As rivals, the relationship between the Soviets and America³ was based on hatred since they were fighting to overpower. The objective of this paper is to critically analyze the historic events that escalated as a result of the space race between America and the Soviets during the Cold war.

Cold War

Relationship between the Soviet and America

The relationship between America and the Soviets was based on enmity as both of them were fighting over power⁴. Although both of them were into war, they did not fight each other directly. Soviet and America fought each other indirectly and that is where the name cold war emanated from. The enmity between them was mainly caused by political, economic, and ideological differences. Politically the Soviets and America were sharing power since Europe had declined after the Second World War. This led to a poor relationship between America and the Soviets since each one of them wanted to dominate the other⁵. In terms of the financial system, America had capitalist ideologies and advocated for it across the world while the Soviets wanted to cut off itself from global trade. The Soviets feared that it would incur risk as a result of trading with Western Nations. Such differences between the Soviets and America led to more enmity⁶. The poor relationship between the Soviets and America was also caused by ideological differences. In this case, both of them represented two government systems that opposed each other⁷. According to America, the government was based on free elections and was one that allowed people to express their political opinions. In contrast, the Soviet government had strong ties with communism. Contrary to America, the Soviet government did not allow people to express themselves politically. These ideological differences contributed to conflicts between America and the Soviets. The cold war was mainly fueled by the fact that the two superpowers were possessing nuclear weapons.

Space Race

Probably one would think that the Space race existed only in the past years during the cold war. The issue of the space race did not only exist in the past years but is still mentioned by America’s government. Recently, President Obama in his speech said that he had better plans for the space race. His plans were to expand the space race to higher levels like Mars and many other horizons⁸. Ideally, the space race was a tough competition between the Soviets and America as both of them were fighting over superiority. It is believed that space was the climax of the cold war between the two superpowers. The Soviets were the first to initiate the space race following the successful launching of their satellite known as Sputnik in 1957. This was a big blow to America which was caught unawares although that was just for a short time⁹. Launching the satellite was tragic because the Soviets could use it to bomb America. Three weeks after the launch, America’s president who was known as Kennedy decided to send one person to the moon. By doing that, President Kennedy was still strategizing ways of defeating the Soviet⁹. In other words, he sent someone to the moon in order to show that America was still awake. Sending an American to the moon was not a very big deal and that is why the president came up with much better ways. President Kennedy wanted to come up with a tougher challenge that would go beyond the Soviet’s ability. In order to win over the Soviets, there was a need for the government to fund America’s space projects¹⁰. The space race was characterized by military superiority whereby weapons such as missiles were used. President Kennedy in his speech said that America had all the necessary resources and talent which it could use to overthrow the Soviets¹⁰. He further said that the problem was that America did not make good use of the resources. Apart from President Kennedy, other American presidents worked tirelessly to ensure that America led in the space race. Other American presidents included Richard Nixon and his counterpart Lyndon Johnson who saw the need of conquering outer space. In 1958, America established its first satellite accompanied by the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). National Aeronautics and space administration was an agency that was meant to explore space¹¹. n reaction to this, the Soviets sent someone by the name of Yuri Gagarin to go around the Earth. Later in 1963, the Soviets sent a lady known as Tereshkova into space. America on its side was busy developing new satellites and as a result, it launched Apollo 8, which was a monitored space around the moon.

In 1969, America became the first country to send astronauts to the moon. Eventually, America won the space race mainly because it was the first one to send people to the moon.

Conclusion

Although the Soviet was the first one to launch its satellite, it was eventually defeated by America. The space race was basically an intense rivalry between the Soviets and America. This competition was characterized by enmity between the two superpowers and was an extension of the cold war. Thus, the conflicts between the Soviets and America existed even in the cold war. During the Cold war, there was a poor relationship between the two superpowers. Their conflicts were mainly because of political, economic, and ideological differences.

Reference List

Aeseng, Peter. The Space. US: Lucent Books, 2001.

Cadbury, Deborah. Space race: the epic battle between America and the Soviet Union for dominion of space. US: HarperCollins, 2006.

Harvey, David. “Between Space and Time: Reflections on the Geographical Imagination.” Annals of the Association of America Geographers 80, no. 3 (1994): 418-434.

Kennedy, John. ““Man on the Moon” Address. A special Address to Congress on the Importance of Space.” 1961. Web.

Kranz, Gene. Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and beyond. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

Krishna, Sutaria. “Obama Space Speech: New NASA Policy Highlights.” Quotes. 2010. Web.

Magill, Frank. Great Events from History.US: Salem Press, 2007.

Magill, Frank & Loos John. Great Events from History.US: Salem Press, 2006.

Stares, Paul. US and Soviet Military Space Programmes. A Comparative Assessment. US: American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 1985.

Wettig, Gerhard. Stalin and the Cold War in Europe. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.

Footnotes

1. Peter Aeseng, The Space (US: Lucent Books, 2001), 45-76.
2. Deborah Cadbury, Space race: the epic battle between America and the Soviet Union for dominion of space (US: HarperCollins, 2006), 234-256.
3. Paul Stares, US and Soviet Military Space Programmes. A Comparative Assessment (US: American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 1985).
4. John Kennedy, “Man on the Moon” Address. A special Address to Congress on the Importance of space, 1961. Web.
5. Frank, Magill & John Loos, Great Events from History (US: Salem Press, 2006), 119-123.
6. David Harvey, “Between Space and Time: Reflections on the Geographical Imagination” Annals of the Association of America Geographers 80, no. 3 (1994): 418-434. Web.
7. Sutaria Krishna, “Obama Space Speech: New NASA Policy Highlights”, Quotes, 2010. Web.
8. Gene Kranz, Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond, (NY: Simon & Schuster, 2009), 45-67.
9. Frank Magill, Great events from History (US: Salem Press, 2006), 57.
10. Gerhard Wetting, Sterlin and the cold war in Europe (Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield, 2008), 89-110.