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Sputnik 1 was the first human-made object to be sent into orbit.

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What agency was created in the US and how was it dedicated to the space journey?

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What agency was created in the US and how was it dedicated to the space journey?

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) independent U.S. government agency established in 1958.

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How has the space race changed after the Cold War? 

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How has the space race changed after the Cold War? 

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There were more vehicles for space made, the cold war, tensions were raised, and more countries were pushed to put satellites in space.

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What country would be the first to actually reach space and what was accomplished for them? How did this continue to create competition? 

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What country would be the first to actually reach space and what was accomplished for them? How did this continue to create competition? 

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The Soviet Union won the space race and it had gained a lot of public attention.

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Opinion: Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, but if we define 'space race' by spaceflight capability, the Soviets won hands down, writes Jennifer Frost.

Tomorrow marks 50 years since the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. A half a century since American astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, declaring, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," while his fellow crew member Buzz Aldrin snapped a photo. This world famous, if not universally believed, event is being commemorated and celebrated around the world.

Without a doubt, landing a man on the moon was an incredible scientific, technical, and organisational achievement for the United States. So in 1969, when American officials declared that the space race against the Soviet Union was 'over' and the US had 'won', few in the West challenged the claim. But today this claim deserves another look, particularly given the American self-congratulation and boosterism accompanying the 50th anniversary. Who really won the US-Soviet space race is a historical question worth asking.

The Cold War is a good place to start as it provided the context and catalyst for the US-Soviet space race. The space race was a test of the scientific research, technological ingenuity and economic resources of the two nations. But it also was an arms race. The American and Soviet space programmes were never 'pure science'. The Cold War rivals used their research to develop the capability of intercontinental ballistic missiles and spy satellites. As astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has written: "Scientific space endeavours aren't separable from military ones, and they never were".

The Cold War meant that Americans experienced a major crisis of confidence when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into earth orbit in 1957. This first human-made satellite made one revolution every 90 minutes, and people around the globe tuned in to hear the beep-beep of the radio signal. "Sputnik was a humiliating defeat for the United States -perhaps the darkest hour of the Cold War," historian Philip Taubman argues. The very next year, the US established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The space race was a test of the scientific research, technological ingenuity and economic resources of the two nations. But it also was an arms race.

Still, the Soviets followed this 'first' with many more: first spacecraft moon landing (Luna 2, 1959), first man in space (Yuri Gagarin, 1961), first woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova, 1963), and first spacewalk (Alexei Leonov, 1965). If we define the 'space race' as spaceflight capability, the Soviets won it hands down.

But it was the Americans who got to define the space race for posterity when President John F. Kennedy called for putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. JFK issued this call just a month after Yuri Gagarin successful orbited the earth. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade," he explained, "and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

It was a challenge, he declared. "We intend to win." Based on these terms, when Neil Armstrong planted the American flag on the surface of the moon in 1969, the United States did 'win'. Instead, perhaps 1975 is a better end to the space race. That year the last Apollo mission docked with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft and the two commanders shook hands in space.

The focus on winning misses such collaborations as well as the costs of the race. Prioritising funding for NASA's race to the moon deprived domestic programmes confronting poverty and economic inequality. The Poor People's Campaign organised a protest at Cape Canaveral the day before the Apollo 11 launch; "Billion$ for space, pennies for the hungry'" read their placards. Musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron's 1970 song Whitey on the Moon makes this point too.

Positive and profound consequences have also been overlooked. It is well-known that the technological innovations spurred by the space race have changed our world. So too did astronaut William Anders' stunning photograph Earth Rise, taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968.

Seeing our beautiful, fragile planet in the midst of dark, endless space contributed to the modern environmental movement and the first Earth Day. By exploring our tiny bit of the vast universe, those who venture out, and we who stay earthbound, gain a new perspective. It is, for director Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, "a feeling of reverence and a feeling of respect towards what is most fundamental, which is this planet".

Associate Professor Jennifer Frost teaches US history in the Faculty of Arts.

This article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the University of Auckland.

Used with permission from Newsroom Who really won the US-Soviet space race? on 19 July 2019.

Media queries

Alison Sims | Research Communications Editor
DDI 09 923 4953
Mob 021 249 0089
Email alison.sims@auckland.ac.nz

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Who really won the US-Soviet space race?

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Opinion: Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, but if we define 'space race' by spaceflight capability, the Soviets won hands down, writes Jennifer Frost. Tomorrow marks 50 years since the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

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Why was President Kennedy’s proclamation of getting a man to the moon so important? What does this have to do with project Apollo?

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Why was President Kennedy’s proclamation of getting a man to the moon so important? What does this have to do with project Apollo?

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Kennedy explained that the Apollo program was at the top of NASA’S priorities and would make funds go up.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA History Office

The Decision to Go to the Moon:
President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speech
before a Joint Session of Congress

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. A number of political factors affected Kennedy's decision and the timing of it. In general, Kennedy felt great pressure to have the United States "catch up to and overtake" the Soviet Union in the "space race." Four years after the Sputnik shock of 1957, the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human in space on April 12, 1961, greatly embarrassing the U.S. While Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, he only flew on a short suborbital flight instead of orbiting the Earth, as Gagarin had done. In addition, the Bay of Pigs fiasco in mid-April put unquantifiable pressure on Kennedy. He wanted to announce a program that the U.S. had a strong chance at achieving before the Soviet Union. After consulting with Vice President Johnson, NASA Administrator James Webb, and other officials, he concluded that landing an American on the Moon would be a very challenging technological feat, but an area of space exploration in which the U.S. actually had a potential lead. Thus the cold war is the primary contextual lens through which many historians now view Kennedy's speech.
The decision involved much consideration before making it public, as well as enormous human efforts and expenditures to make what became Project Apollo a reality by 1969. Only the construction of the Panama Canal in modern peacetime and the Manhattan Project in war were comparable in scope. NASA's overall human spaceflight efforts were guided by Kennedy's speech; Projects Mercury (at least in its latter stages), Gemini, and Apollo were designed to execute Kennedy's goal. His goal was achieved on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped off the Lunar Module's ladder and onto the Moon's surface.

In honor of Kennedy's historic speech, below are some documents and other information relating to the decision to go to the Moon and Project Apollo that we hope you find useful.

High Resolution version of above photo
Links to full text and audio versions of Kennedy's May 25, 1961 speech, as well as other key speeches and documents
Pdf versions of key original documents
Lots of information about Project Apollo and anniversary sites
A cool site devoted to the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11 in 1999
"Washington Goes to the Moon": A two-part radio program produced by WAMU-FM in Washington, D.C. that deals with the political story behind Project Apollo.

Updated October 29, 2013
Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator
For further information E-mail hq-histinfo@nasa.gov

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The Decision to Go to the Moon: President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speech before Congress

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA History Office The Decision to Go to the Moon: President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speechbefore a Joint Session of Congress On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade.

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What are 3 ways the space race created competition between the US and USSR? 

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What are 3 ways the space race created competition between the US and USSR? 

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The USSR tried to make more and better tech after losing the space race against the US. The space race had created a strong tension between the two countries in the cold war and the USSR pushed to make more satellites to put into space, US and USSR weren’t allies at the time.

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As I reflected on the successful launch of Hispasat 36W-1 on the new SmallGEO geostationary platform on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and the current global political backdrop, it got me thinking about cooperation, competition and the impact they have.

At a news conference in 1962, John F. Kennedy said, "We believe that when men reach beyond this planet, they should leave their national differences behind them." Interestingly enough, he made this statement in the middle of the Cold War when the space race was in full swing. That space race was mainly focused on the Moon and the prestige of being the first nation to succeed in sending an astronaut/cosmonaut to the surface of our closest celestial neighbour. Now, more than fifty years later, the "landscape" of space is very different: cooperation in many fields forms the basis of successful space activities for all humanity but, at the same time, competition as a driver for innovation is still a powerful and helpful presence.

The crucial point is how we strike the right balance between competition and cooperation. Within ESA, striking this balance is not some hidden, mysterious process with visible results. Instead, it is a daily challenge that involves considering industrial and scientific development activities in the Member States while, at the same time, respecting geo return rules. This is done in a transparent way through the subscription of programmes, decisions taken in favour of certain projects and the tendering process. Although one might point to some difficulties and problems in this process, these basic principles are part of the beauty of ESA, exploiting the great diversity of its Member States and their industrial and scientific capabilities to perform joint activities.

This daily experience of handling differing national interests puts ESA in a special position when looking to international cooperation. Cooperation on a global scale draws on the competences of the various partners, created and stimulated through competition. In addition, cooperation requires trust on an institutional as well as on an individual level. ESA's acceptance as a partner both east and west is a reflection of its experience, the quality of its activities and great personal commitment shown over many decades, and the Agency is determined to prove, day in, day out, that it is fully deserving of that status.

Trust is based on hardware, and on space missions but also on how we respond when complicated situations arise. Full transparency may cause some trouble in the short term, but it is the only way to be accepted by partners, stakeholders and shareholders alike.

The fact that space is far from routine is an important message that deserves to be conveyed at all times. The harsh environment of outer space and the difficulty of performing maintenance there can lead to systems failures. There is no magic formula to avoid this occurring with 100% probability. However, there are measures such as redundancy that reduce the effect of partial failures. Just how far you go depends on the importance of any given aspect and is linked to the way competition is organised. As Alan Shepard said, "It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract."

In today's world, global cooperation can be seen as a means of securing space as an important infrastructure underpinning modern life. No less importantly, however, global cooperation in space also serves as an instrument to bridge earthly crises for the sake of our planet and I will continue to work tirelessly to that end.

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Cooperation and competition in space: an opportunity and a necessity

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As I reflected on the successful launch of Hispasat 36W-1 on the new SmallGEO geostationary platform on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and the current global political backdrop, it got me thinking about cooperation, competition and the impact they have. At a news conference in 1962, John F.

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What 3 comparisons could be made in technology in the present to the impact made by the space race? 

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What 3 comparisons could be made in technology in the present to the impact made by the space race? 

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Back then, there were more satellites and personnel in space, and there was talk of a space hotel. Military vehicles were also more advanced and used more verses. We have had technology like as phones and computers for a long time and it has advanced verses, but they did not have as advanced technology back then. Vehicles were utilized in the worst wars back then, and they weren't as swift or convenient to use.