Space Race Research Paper

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From the 1950s to the early 1970s, America spent about 30 billion dollars on space and science, as opposed to 1948, when absolutely nothing was funded toward science and its evolution. But why is that so? The Space Race Era, which lasted from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, is remembered as a major turning point in human history due to milestones such as Neil Armstrong’s iconic moon landing. Less known about the Space Race is its origin in the fierce rivalry between the US and the USSR during the Cold War, characterized by geopolitical tensions and differing ideologies: capitalism in the USA and communism in the USSR. Major points in the war, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War, contributed to the increasing rivalry between the two …show more content…
The rapid expansion of communist ideology as well as socialist movements by the USSR throughout the globe caused the rise of mass anxiety within the US. Responding to the technological inferiority and fears of communism, President Dwight D. Eisenhower increased government spending on general scientific research and space research, as evidenced by legislation such as the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which established NASA in response to the Soviet Union's early successes in space exploration. The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union not only spurred advancements in rocketry, medicine, and other fields but also reflected America's determination to demonstrate its technological prowess against the perceived communist threat. Despite its origins in Cold War tensions, the Space Race pushed humanity into new fronts of scientific achievement and technological …show more content…
The launch of Sputnik in 1957 demonstrated the Soviet Union's technological superiority, but it also raised fears in the United States about slipping behind in the battle between the two countries. The Soviet Union's launch of its first artificial satellite represented not only a tremendous technical achievement but also a demonstration of communist nations' future strength in military and arms. This event served as a reminder to the United States of the perceived threat of communism's growth and the likelihood of Soviet space supremacy. The concern of falling behind in the technology race with the Soviet Union was intertwined with larger tensions during the Cold War and the ideological conflict between capitalism and communism. As a result, the United States considered the Space Race not only for scientific achievements but also an essential battleground for establishing ideological superiority and protecting national security. This raised a sense of urgency in the United States to invest substantially in research and development to catch up with and surpass the Soviet Union's space exploration. Central to the United States advancements in response to Sputnik was the evolution of rocketry and spacecraft design, marked by the creation of more robust and capable
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