Definition of Space Race (1957-1975)

After the end of World War II, the planet as a whole was dominated by two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Both nations maintained a permanent rivalry until the final disappearance of the USSR in 1991.

Politically, the Americans tried to expand their capitalist model and the Soviets did the same with the communist ideal. The confrontation between the two nations was not simply political, but was accompanied by a struggle in all kinds of spheres: sport, espionage, weapons, culture and propaganda.

In the late 1950s a new battle began, the race space. For two decades, the United States and the Soviet Union began a competition to demonstrate their hegemony in the conquest of space.

To the conquest of space

In 1957 the Soviets' Sputnik 1 spacecraft went into space and was the first satelite artificial that began to rotate around the Earth. The same year a second ship took the first animal into space, the dog Laika. In 1961 the Americans reacted and got a chimpanzee named Ham to undertake a new journey through space (a Although the Soviets were the first, Laika died as a result of his trip, while Ham was able to survive).

In 1958 the Americans were victorious in the space race, as they succeeded in getting the first communications satellite into orbit.

In 1959 the Soviets brought the first satellite to the surface of the Moon. In 1961 astronaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man to reach Earth orbit and in 1963 Valentina Tereshkova became the first cosmonaut in history.

In 1968, the Apollo 8 mission of the Americans was the first to exceed the velocity necessary for a ship to get out of the effect of Earth's gravity. Thanks to this, the astronauts who manned the spacecraft could be the first to observe the far side of the Moon.

In 1969 the Americans won an important battle

On the Apollo 11 mission there were three astronauts who are still remembered: Neil Armstrong, Ewing Aldrin and Michael Collins. Armstrong was the first human being to set foot on the lunar sphere. The words he spoke at that moment became quite a symbol for Americans: "it is a small step for a man, but a great leap for humanity."

Who won the competition?

It is not easy to state categorically what nation became the winner of this singular competition. In popular culture it is believed that the Americans won the battle, as the arrival to the Moon had a impactmediatic around the world.

However, some analysts believe that the Soviets succeeded, as they were pioneers in three different aspects: the first satellite to fly over space, the first orbital station, and the first man in space. space.

Photo: Fotolia - maxximmm