In '' ancient ''times, when my parents were just born, the space race was just beginning.  It was an exciting period of time for them because so many new things were being accomplished.  I remember my parents telling me stories of when they were in elementary school, and every space launch was televised. Today, people tend to take space travel for granted, but back then, it was a big deal.   They sometimes watched the launches in school along with millions of other viewers.  The space race ended with the landing on the Moon.  This was one of the most exciting and daring space ventures in the history of mankind.  President Nixon watched on a television set in the White House with 500 million viewers across the world.  This is the story of these early space pioneers, from the first satellite to the landing on the Moon.
There were two nations which dominated one of the most intense periods in space exploration.  These countries were the United States and the Soviet Union.  After World War II, a Cold War developed between the two nations.  Each side was determined to prove that its system of government was the best.  Although no actual fighting took place, the two sides spent huge sums of money building up supplies of weapons, which were developed using rocket technology.  Each country tried to prove its superiority in science and technology by taking place in a race for space.  When the Soviets announced on September 17, 1957, that they would send a satellite into orbit, the United States could not believe it. This was the beginning of an era when each country made notable firsts which ended with the first steps on the moon.

THE FIRST STEPS
     The race got underway, on  October 4, 1957,  when the Soviets launched the Sputnik I. The Soviets gave it a peaceful name which means traveler''. This was the first artificial satellite which was man made.  The Soviets used the same type of rocket that was used in their intercontinental ballistic missiles, which were rockets with nuclear bombs attached.(Kelly, p. 10).   The satellite was a shiny metal sphere, about the size of a basketball,  it weighed 184 lbs., and  it orbited the Earth at 18,000 miles per  hour.(Dolan, p.10).   This launch was frightening to the United States because if the Soviets could launch a satellite, they could also propel atomic bombs into the United States.  It made the U.S. even more determined to launch their own rockets into space. One month later in November of 1957, the Soviets launched the Sputnik 2 which carried the first living creature, a dog named  Laika . She died of heat exhaustion before her air ran out.
     The United States made its first attempt in December of 1957, but it ended in failure when the rocket exploded.  The first American satellite was launched in January of 1958.  The Explorer  I,  as it was called, was launched by a Jupiter rocket developed by Wernher von Braun, who came to the United States from Germany after World War II.  In 1958, because the United States was already being beaten in the space race by a Communist country, the government formed NASA ( the National Aeronautics and Space Administration).  In 1959, the U.S. sent monkeys into space, but in contrast to the Soviets, brought them back to Earth safely.  The next step would be to send humans into space.
 

MEN IN SPACE
 

     In  the  1960's the U.S. and the Soviet Union  tried desperately  to put a man in space.  On April 12, 1961, the  Soviet  Union launched a manned space flight.  Yuri  Gagarin  was the first human in space.  He orbited the earth once  and the journey took 1 hour and 48 minutes (Dolan, p.21).   John F. Kennedy was president at that time.  He congratulated the Soviets but at the same time  was very disappointed and felt that his country had been humiliated.  In  May  of 1961, the President set a new goal for America as he stated,  "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth."
      The United States then started to work on Project Mercury.  Project Mercury started out as a  series of unmanned test shots which occurred from September 1959 to April  1961 (Dolan p. 26). It  was  called project  Mercury.
It was different form the Soviets in that the Soviets had their landings on land while the United States was learning a much softer landing, in the Pacific Ocean. When the umanned test shots were completed, NASA was ready to try its first manned flights. Seven  people were chosen to be astronauts. The requirements were as  follows:
         1. 1,500 hours of flight time
          2. Bachelors degree
          3. Jet  pilot training
          4.   National security requirements
           5. Not  taller than 5 ft. 11 in. or over  180lbs .
           6. Under40years old
(http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum/exhibits/dateir)
     One of them was 37 year old Alan  Shepard,  who was chosen for the first suborbital flight.  His spacecraft was called the Freedom 7, named after the 7 people chosen as astronauts.  On  May 5, 1961, he became the first American in space as his flight lasted 15 minutes and 22  seconds (Dolan p. 34).
     For the next 8  years, the space race continued. On February 20, 1962, John Glen was the first American to orbit the Earth.  His flight lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes as he orbited the earth 3  times, (Dolan, p.47).   In August 1962, the Soviets were  performing  group  flights,  which were two spacecrafts in orbit at the same time.   On June 16, 1963,  one of the  group flights contained  a woman cosmonaut,  Valentina   Tereshkova , who was the first woman in space.  During the time period between May 1962 to May 1963, the U.S. was concentrating on  Project  Mercury flights, which put astronauts in space.  By  now,  6 of the 7 original astronauts had been in space. 
 

THE GEMINI PROJECT
 

     NASA then turned to two new projects: the Gemini and Apollo Projects.  President Kennedy was  assassinated  before the Gemini project got underway, but they named the Kennedy Space Center in his honor.  The Gemini project used a newly developed Titan rocket which was much more powerful than the rockets used for Mercury.  The purpose of the Gemini flights was to see how astronauts did on long distance flights.  They also wanted the astronauts to go on space walks.  Edward White was the first American to walk in space.  However, the Soviets had already beaten the Americans three months before.  On March 8, 1965, Alexei  Leonov  had spent 10 minutes outside his craft.  The U.S. surpassed the Soviets with Gemini 5,6,7 and 8.  Gemini 5 was the longest spaceflight up to that time as they held on for eight days and 120 orbits, while the Soviets had only completed 81  orbits (Dolan, p. 58).  Gemini 6 and 7 proved that spaceships can fly with only a scant distance of a few feet between them.  Gemini 8 took the next step and made the world 's first space docking on March 16, 1966.  The rest of the Gemini flights practiced docking and space walks and now the time had come for the Apollo program.

THE APOLLO PROJECT

     The  Apollo projects began with unmanned test flights in 1966. The Apollo spacecraft used a new Saturn V rocket.  All of the Apollo missions were lifted from the same launch pad in Cape Kennedy and all the flights were controlled from Mission Control in Houston, Texas.  Apollo 8 was the most   ambitious  space flight to date.  It was to send three astronauts to orbit around the moon and check the surface for a future landing spot.  They were the first men ever to get a view of the moon's far side. While behind the moon, radio contact had been cut off and the spacecraft did not come back from behind the moon for six long minutes after it should have reappeared. But all was well, and Apollo 8 had paved the way for a lunar landing.  Apollo 9 and 10 performed the final tests and after 6 years of Apollo flights, the U.S. was now ready to land on the moon.

LANDING ON THE MOON
 

     The United States had finally won the space race on July 20, 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.  Everyone at that time was glued to their television sets as the great moment in history occurred.  It was a Saturn rocket named the Columbia which contained three veteran astronauts: Neil Armstrong, EdwinAldrin and Michael Collins. Aldrin and Armstrong climbed into the Lunar Module called the Eagle while Michael Collins remained in the Command Module. The Eagle landed on the Moon, July 20, 1969.  Armstrong walked out first, and then Aldrin. They set up a television camara close by so that the world could watch.  Then Armstrong sent a message to Earth printed on a plaque fastened to the Eagles side.  It read, "Here man first set foot on the Moon, July, 1969.  We came in peace for all mankind.''(Dolan, p.95).  As Armstrong's boot touched the surface he said the famous words," That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.(Dolan p. 95).   They left an American flag so that it stood straight up.  They then collected rocks and soil to bring back home.  President Kennedy's goal was accomplished, and before the end of the 60s !

WHAT  WAS GAINED?
 

     Even though the space race was over, between 1969 and 1972, 5 more Apollo missions went to the moon and ten more U.S. men walked on its surface. The main reason for these flights was so that scientific research could be done.  The United States spent approximately $25 billion on the Apollo project and many people thought that the money could have been better spent on things such as fighting poverty.(Kelly, p.24).   The space race definitely brought many benefits. Today, satellites are used to relay television pictures, and provide valuable information about the earth such as details of extreme weather or the existence of holes in the ozone.(Kelly, p.25).    The insulating material used for rocket fuel tanks is used in hospitals to prevent bedsores.  The need to develop moon shoes with better cushioning and ventilation resulted in better footwear for athletes.  The need for instruments on board the spacecraft led to the invention of a silicon chip which is an essential part of every computer today.(Kelly, p. 27).  Also by studying the moon, many discoveries were made.  We can now calculate the age of the moon to be about the same as the age of the Earth and there are theories about how the moon was formed. These discoveries were made from the 840 lbs. of moon samples that were analyzed.  The Soviet Union never sent cosmonauts to the moon but they did send an automatic landing craft that collected small samples.( Vogt , p.36).
 
 

     The  fact that the United States was the first to put men on the moon, may have been a turning point in the Cold War.  Even in the  1980s  the U.S. still dominated in space technology.  Today, due to the termination of the Cold War, in December of 1989, the U.S. and the Soviet Union can work together instead of against each other. In fact, this had already taken place in 1975, as American and Soviets worked together on the ApolloÑ Soyuz  mission.  In 1989, the Soviets developed the  Mir  space station which has visitors from West European, Russian and American astronauts.(Kelly, p. 28).  Now that countries can unite and put their resources together, the possibilities are endless for the future of space travel and research.
 
 

SPACE TIME LINE

1957
The Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union and was the first artificial Earth satellite.

1958
The U.S.launches its first satellite the Explorer I. NASA is formed

1959
U.S. sends monkeys into space and brings them back safely.

1961
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri  Gagarin  is the first person to orbit the Earth Kennedy makes goal for Americans to reach the moon.
Alan Shepard, Jr. is the first American in space

1962
John Glen, Jr. is the first American to orbit the Earth

1963
The first woman is space is cosmonaut  Valentina   Tereshkova

1965
Cosmonaut Alexei  Leonov  makes the first walk in space
Edward White is the first American to walk in space

1966
World's first space docking by U.S.

1968
U.S. has the first manned space mission which orbits the moon

1969
U.S. lands on the moon. Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon followed by Edwin Aldrin.
 

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