Compare And Contrast The Cold War Space Race

Cold War Era Space Race versus Current Space Race The first space race may have ended, but another one has just begun. The finish line is to put the first human on Mars. The current race is not one between two countries, but within one country among multibillion dollar corporations in the United States. The space race of the Cold War Era was one of great ingenuity and accomplishment which opened the door for space exploration and travel. These races do share one major similarity in that the goal of both was and is to make the United States a leader in space exploration; however, the reasons and participants in each race are very different. After World War II, during the Cold War era, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States was a tense and competitive one with each wanting to maintain the role as the world’s superpower, especially militarily and technologically. The Soviet Union took the initiative to become superior in the space field by successfully launching the first artificial Earth satellite on October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1. Then, just one month later, on November 3, 1957, Russia launched the spacecraft, Sputnik 2, into orbit which had the first living passenger, a dog named Laika. “The United States, locked in a Cold War with the Soviet Union, realized that if the Russians had

One particular thing that has stayed throughout the years though, is the United States superiority in space travel and space exploration. The United States is unmatched in its proficiency in these fields. Their expertise in these fields is demonstrated perfectly with their rapid innovation of past technologies and ideas allowing them to go above and beyond where they previously thought impossible. The United States is now using that technological innovation to help them in their next step in space exploration, to land a man on