The Space Race
The Space Race was a competition between the U.S. and the Soviets to see who was the most advanced in the area of space exploration. The first goal of the race was to get the a satellite into space. The Soviets achieved this first and sent Sputnik into space in 1957. The U.S. knew they were behind. They created NASA to push the U.S. ahead. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was established in 1958. NASA’s job was to research space exploration. The U.S. sent its first satellite to orbit the earth was the Explorer 1 in 1958. The first human in space was a Soviet named Yuri Gagarin. He achieved space in 1961. Later that year Alan Shepard became the second man in space. John Glen was the first American to orbit the earth. He did this 1962. Another goal of the space race was to put the first woman into space. This was achieved in 1963 by the Soviet Valentina Tereshkova.
The focus of the Space Race changed in May, 1961. President Kennedy declared the US would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. This challenge was completed with the Apollo 11 space fight. On July 16, 1969 it was launched into space, four days later it landed on the moon. It’s passenger, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. This marked the U.S.’s victory of the space race
The focus of the Space Race changed in May, 1961. President Kennedy declared the US would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. This challenge was completed with the Apollo 11 space fight. On July 16, 1969 it was launched into space, four days later it landed on the moon. It’s passenger, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. This marked the U.S.’s victory of the space race