Sputnik and the US/Soviet
Space Race
By: Kelly Shea and Stephanie Rozycki
The Start of the Space Race
● Started on October 4th, 1957 when the Soviets
launched the Sputnik.
● The purpose was primarily to investigate outer space
and to discover if living organisms could survive.
● Began at the height of the Cold War
U.S. Reactions to the sputnik
● US reacted in shock to the news of Sputnik’s successful
orbit of the earth
● Sputnik made the American people think their country
had fallen behind Soviet technology
● "the simple fact is that we can no longer consider the
Russians to be behind us in technology. It took them
four years to catch up to our atomic bomb and nine
months to catch up to our hydrogen bomb. Now we are
trying to catch up to their satellite."-George E. Reedy
Soviet Reactions to Sputnik
● The Soviets were proud to have been the
first to launch a satellite into space
● They wanted the U.S. to know that they
were at a higher technological stage.
The U.S. Enters the Race
● NASA:Established in 1958
● First Astronauts established in 1959 by NASA
● On April 12, 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin orbits Earth
● U.S. determined to get to Space.
The U.S. Enters Space
● May 5th,1961-Alan Shepard aboard Freedom
7 is launched into orbit for as long as Yuri.
● July 21st,1961-Gus Grissom abroad Liberty
Bell 7 enters space
● John Glenn is launched into space on
February 20th, 1962
The Apollo 1 Mission
● Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee are
selected for the Apollo 1 Mission
● Launched on June 27, 1967
● First U.S. Astronauts to ever die in space travel
● Led to more safety features on future spacecrafts
Apollo Missions
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During 1968 and 1969 a series of successful Apollo missions were
launched.
Apollo 11 spacecraft Columbia lands on the moon on July 21st, 1969
Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the first humans
on the Moon.
The U.S. had won the Space Race
Advantages and Disadvantages
● The US proved their strength after starting
with a disadvantage
● The Soviets head start was fair because the
US chose to ignore the Soviets warning signs
How did this affect Americans
● In the beginning the Americans felt
blindsided, because they were not
expecting sputnik’s launch
● In the long run, the US were proud that we
powered through it and ended up being the
1st ones to land on the moon
Our thoughts
● The US should have been paying
more attention to the progress of
other nations
● The Soviets victory with Sputnik
was perfectly planned to surprise
the US
Citations
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Oberg, James. "Sputnik." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online,
2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
"Cold War: Sputnik Escalates the Cold War: Dilemma: Opening." World at
War: Understanding Conflict and Society.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 11 Mar.
2014.
Olson, James S. and Samuel Freeman. "U.S.-Soviet Space Race." Pop
Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.