The Space Race was a fierce competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to establish superiority in space exploration. The two nations wanted to demonstrate their technological prowess and earn the prestige that came with achieving milestones in a field previously thought of as science fiction.
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Older readers may associate NASA inventions with things like Tang drink mix and freeze-dried ice cream. But the list of inventions that can be traced back to NASA is much longer, and involves technologies that many of use daily. This piece provides a glimpse of just how many ways NASA has changed our lives, even if we didn’t know it.
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit Oct. 4, 1957. It was a roughly 2-foot-wide polished metal sphere, with four external antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable even by amateurs, and the 65-degree inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth.
During a launch rehearsal test on Jan. 27, 1967, the fire took the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. The tragedy led to improvements to CM construction and the development of a single-piece hatch for escapes.
Its launch accelerated US investment in the Space Race amid fears the Soviet Union had the technology to launch intercontinental nuclear warheads. It would be followed by Sputnik 2, which carried the first living being—a dog named Laika—to orbit.
The geopolitical rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union was considered “cold" because the two countries never directly engaged in military combat during the time period. This page from the Kennedy Presidential Library outlines the causes and major events of the early Cold War.
The Space Race led to landmark accomplishments, but there were also catastrophic failures. The first tragedy of the US space program occurred in January 1967 when three astronauts were killed during a preflight test of the Apollo 1 spacecraft. This detailed piece explains why the astronauts were concerned before the test began, and how things went horribly wrong.
By 1975, the US and Soviet Union had been embroiled in the Cold War for decades. So it was big news when Soviet cosmonauts and American astronauts met in outer space to … shake hands and study fish eggs. Equal parts diplomatic effort and scientific research collaboration, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project offered a glimpse of what international collaboration could look like, at least in the field of space exploration.
When Apollo 11 astronauts stepped onto the moon in July 1969, it marked a dramatic win in the US–Soviet space race. The televised landing—broadcast across the globe—showcased American technological supremacy.
Take one small step today and experience the historic moon-landing through VR. This video showcases how VR is allowing the public to travel through space through the eyes of those who lived through it.
Despite the US starting the Space Race behind the Soviet Union, which had put a cosmonaut into space in 1961, the successful landing of Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969 was seen as a defining victory for America.
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