SPACE RACE

The Cold War rivalry between the USA and the Soviet Union

3.sputnik 2 (1957)

2.SPUTNIK 1 (1957)

1.THE Space RACE BEGINS(1955)

5.VOSTOK 1 - VOSTOK 6 (1961;1963)

4.SPUTNIK 5 (1960)

6.APOLLO 11 (1969)

After World War II both the United States and the Soviet Union realised how important rocket research would be to the military. For this reason they took the German rocket equipment and recruited the top rocket scientists from Germany to help with the development of their own missiles.

On October 4, 1957 the Russians took the lead in the Space Race by placing the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months later called the Explorer I.

On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the Earth in the spacecraft Vostok I. He became a national hero of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, and a worldwide celebrity. Three weeks later the US launched the Freedom 7 and astronaut Alan Shepherd became the first American in space. The first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, was launched into space on Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963. She was the only one to fly of a small group of female parachutist factory workers (unlike the male cosmonauts who were military pilots).

On August 19, 1960, the dogs Belka and Strelka were sent into orbit aboard Sputnik 5. They were accompanied by 42 mice, a grey rabbit, two rats, flies, and several plants and fungi. All passengers survived.

The US and the USSR sent animals into space to determine the safety of the environment before sending the first humans. The USSR used dogs for this purpose, and the US used monkeys and apes. On November 3, 1957, the USSR sent the dog Laika into orbit on Sputnik 2 for a ten-day flight. They did not yet have the technology to return Laika safely to Earth, and the government reported Laika died of stress and overheating after only about five or seven hours.

The first satellite into orbit

SPUTNIK 1

On October 4, 1957 the Russians placed the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I. The Russians had taken the lead in the Space Race. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months later called the Explorer I.

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