Space Race
What is a space race? A space race is a competition between nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration. The first goal for the U.S and the Soviet Union was space exploration and the first one to land on the moon. At first the Soviets were the first one to accomplish this goal by launching Sputnik in 1957. This is when the U.S. reacted to this situation in a big way.
This reaction forced the U.S. to create NASA in 1958. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The purposes of this creation was improvement in science, technology for planes and space. With this improvement, the U.S. was able to launch the first satellite on January 31,1958 called Explorer 1. Now who will be the first person into space.
The first person to arrive in space was Yuri Gagarin in 1961. Alan B. Shepard Jr. was the first American in space on May 5, 1961. With the start of this, the first American to orbit Earth was John Glenn on February 20, 1962. Valentina Vladimirovna Nikolayeva Tereshkova, was the first woman in space from June 16 to June 19, 1963. Prior to this event, President Kennedy was elected in 1961.He once said “the United States would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.” Months passed when the Apollo 11 mission began. This event was planed to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.
This reaction forced the U.S. to create NASA in 1958. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The purposes of this creation was improvement in science, technology for planes and space. With this improvement, the U.S. was able to launch the first satellite on January 31,1958 called Explorer 1. Now who will be the first person into space.
The first person to arrive in space was Yuri Gagarin in 1961. Alan B. Shepard Jr. was the first American in space on May 5, 1961. With the start of this, the first American to orbit Earth was John Glenn on February 20, 1962. Valentina Vladimirovna Nikolayeva Tereshkova, was the first woman in space from June 16 to June 19, 1963. Prior to this event, President Kennedy was elected in 1961.He once said “the United States would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.” Months passed when the Apollo 11 mission began. This event was planed to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.