Space Race overview: "On the
3rd October 1942, German scientists launched an A-4 rocket, which
travelled 118 miles and rose to an altitude of over 50 miles. The
A-4 was to become the V2 rocket, armed with a ton of explosive and
used against London and Antwerp. After the Second World War, both
the USA and Soviet Union began their own space programmes
using the scientists and equipment they had captured from
the Germans at Peenemünde.
The American space programme got off to quite a leisurely
start, with number of research projects being carried out almost in
competition with each other. However, the first shock came with the
launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviets on the 4th October 1957 from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome, and weighed 83 kg. It orbited the Earth for three
weeks sending out a weak signal, and was far heavier than the 9-kg
package the US Navy was going to send up on the Vanguard rocket. A
second blow followed this when the Soviets launched Sputnik 2 on the
3rd November 1957; carrying a dog called Laika, and weighed in at
508 kg. These successes led to a dramatic expansion and consolidation
of the American space program, but it didn't start well with the Vanguard
rocket blowing up. The US Army finally got the American effort off
to the start they wanted, with the launch of Explorer 1 on the 30th
January 1958. It was less than a metre long and only weighed 4.8 kg,
but discovered the Van Allen radiation belts.
The first satellite to be described as a military
communications satellite was launched by the Americans on the 18th
December 1958, carrying a satellite called SCORE, which carried a
taped Christmas message by President Eisenhower. This was followed
by the launch of Discover 1 on the 28th February 1959 from Vandenberg
Air Force Base on the West Coast of the United States. By the early
1960s the US had achieved some notable successes including the first
weather, navigation, reconnaissance, early warning and communications
satellites. But the Soviet Union had put the first man into
orbit, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, launched aboard Vostok 1 on
the 12th April 1961. The USA didn't follow this until the 20th February
1962, with John Glenn aboard the Mercury capsule,
Friendship 7.
As the 1960s got underway, the Space Race intensified,
with the Soviets catching the American lead in satellite technology.
Of more concern to the West was their lead in manned space flight
and the heavy lift capability that implied. In October 1960, while
campaigning for the Presidency, John F Kennedy stated that
"we are in a strategic space race with the Russians and we have
been losing .... Control of space will be decided in the next decade.
If the Soviets control space, they can control Earth, as in the past
centuries the nations that controlled the seas dominated the continents."
The Soviet lead called into question American technological superiority
and self-esteem. Consequently, President Kennedy declared that the
US would launch a manned mission to the moon before the end of the
decade.
The US continued with its Mercury missions until
May 1963, and the Soviets their Vostok missions until the following
month, when Valentina Tereslikova became the first woman in
space, in Vostok 6. Both countries moved onto new systems
after a pause, with the US moving to the Gemini capsules and the Soviet
Union resuming with Voshkod 1. Alexei Leonov became the first
man to 'walk' in space, from Voshkod 2, while the USA conducted
docking manoeuvres with its Gemini and Agena vehicles. The Soviets
began launching the Soyuz flights in April 1967, which unfortunately
started with the tragic death of Vladimir Kornarov when the re-entry
capsule became entangled in its parachute. This followed the deaths
of Virgil Grisson, Edward White and Roger Chaffee who were killed
by a fire in their Apollo capsule while practicing launch procedures.
While Soyuz missions concentrated on refining docking procedures,
the Apollo programme tested the techniques of sending men
to the moon and bringing them back to Earth. This was finally
accomplished on the 21st July 1969 when Apollo 11, with Neil
Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin landed on the moon, while Michael
Collins stayed in orbit.
During the 1970s, both sides continued to increase
their satellite launches but also work on anti-satellite and
antiballistic missile systems, with the Americans developing
the Nike-Zeus Anti-Satellite system (ASAT), Sprint and Spartan Anti-Ballistic
Missile (ABM) systems, and the Soviets their own versions. The Americans
launched Skylab, and after some technical difficulties
and damage was repaired, it became operational in June 1973. It provided
a wealth of scientific and military data. The Soviets undertook their
own manned space station programme - that of Salyut,
which continued into the 1980's, and was eventually succeeded by the
Mir station. Both sides also sent a series of probe missions out to
the other planets in our solar system. Finally, the launch of the
American space shuttle on the 12th April 1981 heralded the beginning
of a programme that would result in an unprecedented access to space,
for the space shuttle was a fully reusable launch and recovery platform,
launching like a conventional rocket, but landing like an aircraft.
The next big developments are likely to be the international space
station, Liberty, and a manned mission to Mars."
Article citation: Antill, P. (12 January 2001), The
Space Race, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/concepts_spacerace.html
