Space Race 1957-1971

Space Race After World War II the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a bitter Cold War of espionage and propaganda. Satellite-borne equipment could spy on other countries. Show Military Strength

Space Race The same rockets that might send a human into orbit or hit a specific spot on the Moon could send an atom bomb to a specific enemy city. Much of the technological development required for space travel applied equally well to wartime rockets such as Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Space Race Artificial satellites start the "race"

4 October 1957, the USSR successfully launched Sputnik 1 Sputnik caused fear and stirred political debate in the United States.

Sputnik

In the eyes of the world, first in space means first, period; second in space is second in everything. Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice President to President John F. Kennedy

Animals in Space The first mammal sent into orbit, the dog Laika, travelled in the USSR's Sputnik 2 in 1957.

1st of Space The first communications satellite, Project SCORE, (Signal Communications Orbit Relay Equipment) launched on December 18, 1958, relayed a Christmas message from President Eisenhower to the world.

MAN IN SPACE Yuri Gagarin became the first successful cosmonaut when he entered orbit in Russia's Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961

Other 1st Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963 in Vostok 6 The first flight with more than one crew member, the USSR's Voskhod 1, a modified version of the Vostok craft, took off on October 12, 1964.

More 1st Aleksei Leonov, from Voskhod 2, launched by the USSR on March 18, 1965, carried out the first spacewalk.

TO THE MOON The Soviet Lunar program became operational with the launch of Luna 1 on January 4, 1959. Apollo 8 carried out the first manned orbit of the moon on December 27, 1968, laying the groundwork for placing a man on the moon.

Man to the moon Apollo 11 gets there first American Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the lunar surface, after landing in July of 1969. over 500 million people around the world.

Why Is There No Blast Crater Where the Module Landed Why Is There No Blast Crater Where the Module Landed?“”Image Credit: NASADuring the descent, the lunar lander would have fired its rocket to slow it down. So, why is there no blast crater on the surface of the Moon? The lander had a very power rocket, capable of 10,000 pounds of thrust. But they didn't need to use all 10,000 pounds of thrust to land the module, in fact they needed only about 3,000 pounds. Concentrated all in one place it should have produced a noticeable crater. But there is no air on the Moon, therefore there is no pressure causing the exhaust gas to go straight down onto a concentrated area. It would have spread out over a wide area. If you calculate the pressure on the surface, it would have been only 1.5 pounds of pressure per square inch; not enough to cause a blast crater.

Why Is The American Flag Waving Why Is The American Flag Waving?“”Image Credit: NASAWell the answer is that its not waving! In images of the American flag on the Moon, the flag appears rippled, as if it is being blown in the wind. But this is actually due to the design of the flag. It was created to have rigid, extendable support pieces on the top and bottom so that the flag would look taut. However, when the astronauts were setting the flag up, the bottom rod was jammed, and would not fully extend. Then, as they were twisting the pole into the ground, the motion caused the ripples we see. On a later mission, astronauts were going to repair the defective rod, but decided they liked the wavy look so left it the way it was.

The best you can say is: yes, a bit, but not really. 1) When the astronauts are putting up the American flag it waves. There is no wind on the Moon. The flag is held up by a horizontal bar and simply moves when it is unfurled and as the pole is being fixed into position by the astronauts. The flagpole is light, flexible aluminium and continues to vibrate after the astronauts let go, giving the impression of blowing in the wind. 2) No stars are visible in the pictures taken by the Apollo astronauts from the surface of the Moon. The Apollo landing takes place during lunar mornings, with the Sun shining brightly. The stars are not bright enough in this light to be captured in the photographs. 3) No blast crater is visible in the pictures taken of the lunar landing module. The landing module touches down on solid rock, covered in a layer of fine lunar dust, so there is no reason why it would create a blast crater. Even if the ground were less solid, the amount of thrust being produced by the engines at the point of landing and take off is very low in comparison to a landing on Earth because of the relative lack of gravitational pull. 4) The landing module weighs 17 tons and yet sits on top of the sand making no impression. Next to it astronauts’ footprints can be seen in the sand. The layer of lunar dust is fairly thin, so the landing module sits on the solid rock. The dust, whilst blown away by the blast from the descent engines, quickly settles back on the ground and is under the astronauts when they begin their moonwalk. 5) The footprints in the fine lunar dust, with no moisture or atmosphere or strong gravity, are unexpectedly well preserved, as if made in wet sand. The lack of wind on the moon means the footprints in fine, dry lunar dust aren’t blown away in the way they would be if made in a similar substance on Earth. 6) When the landing module takes off from the Moon’s surface there is no visible flame from the rocket. The rockets in the landing module are powered by fuel containing a combination of hydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide, which burn with no visible flame. 7) If you speed up the film of the astronauts walking on the Moon’s surface they look like they were filmed on Earth and slowed down. The best you can say is: yes, a bit, but not really. 8) The astronauts could not have survived the trip because of exposure to radiation from the Van Allen radiation belt. This claim is largely based on a claim from a Russian cosmonaut. The short time it takes to pass through the belt, combined with the protection from the spacecraft, means any exposure to radiation would be very low. 9) The rocks brought back from the Moon are identical to rocks collected by scientific expeditions to Antarctica. Some Moon rocks have been found on Earth, but they are all scorched and oxidised from their entry into the Earth’s atmosphere as asteroids. Geologists have confirmed with complete certainty that the Apollo rocks must have been brought from the Moon by man. 10) All six Moon landings happened during the Nixon administration. No other national leader has claimed to have landed astronauts on the Moon, despite 40 years of rapid technological development. This is a favourite among conspiracy theorists because it needs no evidence but points the finger at the presidency of Richard Nixon. The fact is that after the Apollo landings, the race had been won and the money dried up. The USSR has no interest in coming second, and politicians on both side realised that lower-orbit missions had much greater commercial and military potential.