Space Race Research Paper

Words: 972
Pages: 4

Think of the space race. What first comes to mind? You probably think of Neil Armstrong walking the moon, but what had to happen in order to get him there? Space Race is the answer. The space race was a pursuit against Russia to see who would get to space first. It was caused as an emergency reaction to Russia's advancing space programs. There were many components to the event. For example, Russia's satellite which triggered it, JFK’s speech which advanced it, and project Mercury which were the first tests to get someone in space. The Sputnik Satellite started the space race and eventually led to the Apollo 11 mission.

The Russian satellite, Sputnik, sent America into hysteria. On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union launched a satellite called
…show more content…
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech about the space race that pushed space exploration to be what it is today. He talked about what the goals were for space exploration (Uri). “Kennedy went on to specify several items for which he sought additional funding from the Congress to help achieve this and other goals in space. By setting such a lofty goal and requesting the needed funding, he committed the nation’s will and its resources to a decade-long pursuit of what at the time seemed to many an impossible goal. His speech set in motion a process that at one time employed 400,000 Americans to achieve the goal on July 20, 1969, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” (Uri). This demonstrates that Kennedy’s speech had a huge impact on NASA. JFK had extensive dreams for NASA and his speech started the process of achieving that …show more content…
Accessed 24 Jan 2024. Stamm, Amy. I am a snob. “Light This Candle: What You Need to Know About Alan Shepard's Historic Spaceflight” National air and space museum, Smithsonian, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/alan-shepard-freedom-7 Accessed 25 Jan 2024. Uri, John. I am a naysayer. “60 Years Ago: President Kennedy Proposes Moon Landing Goal in Speech to Congress”, https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-president-kennedy-proposes-moon-landing-goal-in-speech-to-congress/ NASA Accessed 25 Jan