The Soviet Union's Indirect Conflict In The Space Race

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union had an indirect conflict in the space race. The goal of this competition was to advance in space technology more. Each side made big steps and used a lot of resources to try and win. The race officially started on August 2, 1955. The goal shifted to getting the first man on the moon when JFK gave a speech at Rice University, in 1962, saying the United States would get a man on the moon first. This speech indirectly challenged the Soviet Union. The indirect conflict of the space race during the Cold War ended on July 20, 1969, and was won by the United States. The space race started because of nuclear weapons and the fear of mutually assured destruction. With each country having a lot of nuclear weapons and having those numbers rapidly growing, the United States and USSR were scared of nuclear war. A possible war could have ended with both countries destroyed. Instead of direct conflict, the Unites States and the Soviet Union came up with different ways to compete, all of which did not involve direct fighting between the two countries. The space race was only one of the many and many different

Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969. This mission was completed on July 20. Apollo 11 was the first attempted and completed lunar landing. The spacecraft was carrying Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. The objective for these astronauts was to bring moon surface material and bring it back to Earth. Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the moon. As Neil said, it was, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (The Space Race). 20 minutes after Neil stepped onto the moon, Edwin Aldrin became the second man on the moon. Spacecraft was in orbit for a total of 8 days, 3 hours, 18 min, 35 seconds. The spacecraft also traveled a total of 953,054 miles. The United States sprung ahead of the Soviet Union and won the space