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Zach Rollins
HIST 1120
Space Race: How the Cold War Struggle for Space Supremacy Changed the World
With the end of World War II came the emergence of two world superpowers: the United
States and the Soviet Union. Though the two nations fought together during the war, they had
differing visions of the post-war world, and their political and economic differences marked the
beginning of a bitter era after the war known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union viewed
capitalism, particularly in the United States, as modern economic imperialism, made worse by
the exploitation of the working class. The United States saw the Soviet Union as a communist
threat and a vehicle for the spread of communism (Duiker and Spielvogel 638). The conflict
between communism and capitalism manifested itself in various ways, and rather quickly, the
Cold War became a quest to achieve propaganda and ideological victories in order to prove that
one nation and their form of government was superior. Perhaps no struggle during the Cold War
was as spectacular and pivotal as the Space Race. A competition for superiority in space
exploration, the Space Race was a central part of the Cold War. It led to multiple flights into
space, which resulted in some of the most iconic moments in history. The Space Race pervaded
every element of society, from popular culture to technology, leading to various sociological
changes that can still be observed today.
The origins of the Space Race can be traced to the development of the V-2 rocket in
Germany during World War II. In 1932, a German engineering student named Wernher von
Braun was enlisted by the German army to develop a ballistic missile that would be a better
alternative to heavy artillery. In 1937, Nazi Germany’s ballistic missile program commenced
with the opening of the Peenemünde Army Research Center. At Peenemünde, von Braun led a

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team of engineers and scientists in a project to construct the world’s first ballistic missile. By
1944, the design of the ballistic missile had been finalized, and von Braun and his team had
succeeded in building the first practical, effective ballistic missile—the A-4. Adolf Hitler,
impressed with the A-4, ordered it to be mass produced. When mass production began, the A-4
was rechristened the V-2, or the Vergeltungswaffen 2 (German for “Vengeance Weapon 2”). A
warhead was attached to the V-2, and the missile was used to bomb European cities. In
September 1944, the first V-2s were fired at London, Paris, and Antwerp. Ultimately, however,
the V-2 was a failure. By the end of World War II, approximately 3,200 of them were fired,
killing roughly 5,000 people (an average of about one and a half deaths per rocket). Although the
V-2 was abandoned, it was the forerunner for all future rockets, and it laid the groundwork for
space travel (Sputnik Declassified).
When World War II ended, both the United States and the Soviet Union acquired V-2
rockets to study in order to construct their own rockets. Wernher von Braun and several other
German engineers and rocket scientists defected to the United States. In 1950, von Braun and a
team of engineers were recruited by the United States Army to begin work building American
rockets. Stationed in Huntsville, Alabama, von Braun’s team was tasked with constructing the
next generation V-2 rocket, named Redstone, which was designed to carry a nuclear payload
across the globe. In the meantime, von Braun conducted his own research and began work on
drastically improving the Redstone for the purpose of space travel. Even though von Braun was
building a weapon for the United States Army, he was a rocket scientist first. Fascinated by
space, von Braun always had visions of using his rockets to launch an artificial satellite into orbit
and usher in the Space Age (Sputnik Declassified). However, he was not the only person with
dreams of satellites.

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By 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was set to launch an American satellite but for
different reasons than Wernher von Braun. With the attack on Pearl Harbor still fresh in his
memory, Eisenhower recognized that a surprise attack was possible, and given the circumstances
of the Cold War, could be devastating if nuclear weapons were used. In the end, Eisenhower
believed surveillance of the Soviet Union was the most effective way to prevent a surprise attack.
He and a group of advisors decided that the United States must launch an Earth-orbiting satellite
for reconnaissance purposes, and on July 29, 1955, Eisenhower announced plans to launch an
American satellite. Days later, though, the Soviet Union announced their plans to launch their
own satellite. With these announcements, square one for the Space Race was drawn (Telzrow
33).
Wernher von Braun saw Eisenhower’s announcement as the perfect opportunity to see his
visions of space exploration realized. The Eisenhower administration was tasked with selecting
who would build the American satellite, and a selection committee was established to make the
decision. Wernher von Braun and his Huntsville team jumped at the opportunity, and in
collaboration with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, presented their plan, which
involved launching a radically redesigned Redstone rocket that launched in three different stages
in order to send a satellite into orbit. The United States Naval Research Laboratory presented a
plan as well, called Project Vanguard. Vanguard also used a multi-stage rocket, but whereas the
JPL plan used an already functional and tested Redstone rocket, Vanguard used brand new
technology, and the rocket was built from the ground up. In August 1955, the selection
committee selected Project Vanguard, a mistake that would haunt the Eisenhower administration
and change the face of the Cold War (Sputnik Declassified).

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Wernher von Braun predicted that Project Vanguard would not be able to beat the Soviet
Union, because the equipment and technology used for the Vanguard rocket was new and
untested. He surmised that the Soviet Union had the perfect opportunity to launch a satellite first
(Telzrow 34). Over the next two years, both the United States and the Soviet Union raced to
launch the world’s first satellite. The efforts of the United States were futile, though, and on
October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union stunned the world with the successful launch of Sputnik, the
world’s first manmade satellite. Wernher von Braun was correct in his prediction two years
earlier. The Soviet Union had beaten the Americans to space. The launch of Sputnik was seen as
a crippling American defeat, and it was an extraordinary propaganda victory for the Soviet
Union. The United States was no longer seen as technologically and scientifically superior, and
the Soviet education system and scientific community was lauded by the world. The Space Race
had begun, and suffice it say, Sputnik had already changed the world.
Days after Sputnik’s launch, President Eisenhower demanded a progress report on Project
Vanguard, and the project was expedited so that a satellite could be launched as soon as possible.
However, the United States defeat at the hands of the Soviet Union was made more humiliating
than ever imaginable on December 6, 1957. The launch of Project Vanguard’s Test Vehicle 3, or
Vanguard TV3, was broadcast live on televisions across America. Americans watched in horror
as it lifted only feet off the ground before it crashed and exploded on its launch pad. Not only
had the United States lost to the Soviets, but they now looked foolish in the shadow of the
colossal failure of Project Vanguard (Telzrow 36). Afterwards, Wernher von Braun and his team
in Birmingham were finally given permission by the Eisenhower administration to construct a
satellite. On January 31, 1958, Explorer 1, the first American satellite, was successfully launched
into orbit with von Braun’s modified Redstone rocket—the Jupiter-C (Sputnik Declassified). Yet,

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even with the launch of Explorer 1, the United States was still lagging in the Space Race. Two
months earlier, the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 2, sending the first animal, a dog named
Laika, into orbit. The Soviets had launched two satellites into orbit, while the Americans had
only managed to launch one. With fears of an overall Soviet victory plaguing the nation, the
United States would enhance their efforts, and the following decade would send the Space Race
into full throttle.
At the beginning of the 1960s, the Soviet Union again achieved a significant victory in
the Space Race. On April 12, 1961, the Vostok 1 mission was initiated, and the Vostok 3KA
spacecraft carried a Soviet pilot, Yuri Gagarin, into space. With the success of Vostok 1, the
Soviet Union had achieved another unprecedented triumph over the United States. However,
President John F. Kennedy, who had been elected less than 5 months earlier, was quick to try to
defuse the most recent Soviet victory. Determined to have the United States catch up to and
surpass the Soviet Union in the Space Race, Kennedy addressed Congress on May 25, 1961 and
formally announced his support for a bold American space program called the Apollo program.
At the forefront of the Apollo program would be a mission to land a man on the moon before the
end of the decade. President Kennedy soon made the prospect of a manned moon landing the
central theme of the Space Race (Balogh 14). On September 12, 1962 in one of his many famous
speeches, he said:
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because
they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize
and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that
we’re willing to accept, one that we’re unwilling to postpone, and one we intend
to win and the others too.

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President Kennedy would never live to see his vision become reality, however. He was
assassinated on November 22, 1963, two years after giving his “We Choose the Moon” speech.
Despite the national tragedy, though, the Apollo program continued to operate under a new
president, Lyndon B. Johnson. The Apollo program would go on to make great strides in space
exploration, and the dream of Americans walking on the moon before the end of the decade lived
on. Ultimately, in one of the most (if not the most) iconic moments in the 20th century, President
Kennedy’s promise was fulfilled.
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V was
designed by Wernher von Braun, based on his rocket designs from his work for the German
Army in World War II. Fittingly, Apollo 11 thus seemed to be a culmination of decades of work
to conquer space. On July 20, the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle landed on the surface of the
moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended from Eagle and became the first people to set
foot on the surface of the moon. Whereas Sputnik had stunned the world almost twelve years
earlier, Apollo 11 stunned the world differently. Apollo 11 was a breathtaking moment—a
glorious moment in history that would be defined as a courageous mission that illustrated the
American spirit. With the success of Apollo 11, the United States achieved the most significant
victory in the Space Race. For all intents and purposes, the race to space was over, and the
United States had won (Balogh 16). Though numerous space missions by both the United States
and the Soviet Union were conducted in subsequent years, there was nothing the Soviet Union
could do to surpass the historic moment when Americans walked on the surface of the Moon.
With the Space Race over, its impact on society became apparent, and its influences were
numerous.

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The first major instance of drastic change heralded by the Space Race was the overhaul
of the American education system. Almost immediately after the launch of Sputnik, the
education system of the Soviet Union was viewed as superior to every other nation’s. In
response, the United States revised curriculums nationwide. In September 1958, the United
States Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). The passage of the NDEA
was a direct response to Sputnik’s launch and contained provisions that would help ensure the
abundance of highly trained individuals who would be able to compete with the Soviet Union in
the Space Race. The NDEA made improvements on virtually every subject in all levels of
education. Science and math courses were completely revamped and increased in numbers
nationwide; foreign language courses were added to elementary school programs, and
vocational-technical training was highly emphasized (“The Federal Role in Education”). In all,
the U.S. Government granted nearly a billion dollars to provide loans for college students and to
fund classroom improvements for elementary, junior high, and high schools. Improved science
labs were added to schools, and overhead projectors, televisions and educational films became
standard classroom tools (Abramson).
The Space Race also had a noticeable impact on culture. Numerous television shows,
movies, toys, and even architecture from the mid-1950s and beyond reflect an incredible interest
in space. In 1955, interest in space travel became evident in popular culture when Wernher von
Braun himself collaborated with Walt Disney to create an episode of the television series
Disneyland titled “Man in Space.” The show combined elements of animation and a
documentary to provide audiences with a brief history of the development of rockets, as well as a
narrative of the future of space exploration. Walt Disney would later remark that “Man in Space”
inspired the United States to announce their plans to launch a satellite. Though “Man in Space”

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did not have quite the influence on the United States government as Walt Disney claimed it did,
it was a success nonetheless and echoed society’s curiosity in space exploration. In the following
years, television programs centered on societies living in the Space Age. The Jetsons, an
animated sitcom, explored the ordinary events in the lives of a family living in a futuristic
society with robots and eccentric technology. The sci-fi drama Star Trek presented an elaborate
and dramatic look at space exploration and became a phenomenon, encompassing numerous
other media such as books, films, and games. Both shows raised very real questions concerning
the impact of the Space Race on the future of society and amazed audiences with thoughts of the
endless technological possibilities in the near future. Possibly the epitome of pop culture during
the Space Race, though, was film director Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, 2001: A Space
Odyssey. Commonly regarded as one of the greatest films in history, 2001 draws a correlation
between space exploration and human evolution. The film ambiguously suggests that space
exploration is the next logical step in the course of human civilization, and it also deals with the
ethical issues of space research and society’s eventual dependence on technology—issues that
were commonly debated during the years of the Space Race (Seabrook).
Toys were also indicative of the Space Race’s impact on popular culture. Telescopes,
model solar system kits, astronaut action figures, and plastic rockets and space shuttles were best
sellers at the height of the space race (Kennedy). The most enduring cultural element inspired by
the Space Race, however, is architecture. Architecture during the Space Race, known as Googie,
was distinguished by its futuristic style. Features of Googie architecture mirrored aspects of
space travel. Starburst shapes, sharp angles, widespread use of glass, boomerang and parabolic
shapes mimicking spaceships and rockets, and prominent use of neon lighting were all features
that made clear society’s interest in space (Bey). Googie architecture can still be observed in

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numerous buildings across the United States. Motels, diners, gas stations, bowling alleys,
department stores, and countless signs still exhibit the aesthetics of Space Race-inspired
architecture. The Space Needle in Seattle, the TWA Flight Center in New York, and the
“Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas” sign are all renowned examples of Googie architecture
(Friedlander).
Nevertheless, the major impact of the Space Race was its impact on technology. With the
vast amount of funds being used to build more advanced rockets and spacecraft during the Space
Race, new technology was constantly being developed. Countless technological breakthroughs
can be traced to advancements in technology that occurred during the Space Race. When mission
directors on Earth needed a more effective way to communicate with astronauts in space, they
developed satellite communications. Specific satellites and satellite dishes came as a result.
Without these advancements in satellites, GPS tracking and navigation, weather forecasts, and
satellite television would not be possible. As the Space Race progressed, astronauts also needed
more advanced control panels and computers. To help reduce the space that these undoubtedly
large computers would take up, immense funds went into developing smaller hardware and even
thinner monitors that could be collapsible. This technology was the progenitor of laptop
computers and small personal computers. Furthermore, cordless power tools such as drills and
saws were developed during the Apollo program so that astronauts could collect rocks from the
moon more efficiently. Even video games have connections to the Space Race. Joysticks and
compact controllers were created as a simpler method for astronauts to control spacecraft and the
Apollo Lunar Modules. The list of technological influences of the Space Race is seemingly
endless. In essence, most of the technology used and enjoyed in the 21st century would not yet
exist if the Space Race had not occurred (Jones).

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Modern-day analyses of the Space Race vary. Some historians view the Space Race as a
meaningless Cold War rivalry that involved wasteful spending on a substantial scale in order to
create propaganda and achieve only symbolic victories (DeGroot; Jessa). Others view the Space
Race as a positive period that created national heroes and symbols at a time when people were
ordinarily living in a Cold War-world of fear, tension, and paranoia (“Cronkite and the Lunar
Landing”; Sputnik Declassified). Nonetheless, the Space Race led to many beneficial changes.
Advancements made in technology accelerated global modernization. If the Space Race had not
occurred, technology might very well be decades behind. The education system of the United
States might be completely different. A world without Space Race-inspired popular culture
would be difficult to imagine, and even cities and the world itself might look different. Though
the exact purposes of the Space Race are debatable, one thing remains certain: the Space Race
was a remarkable period in history that fundamentally changed the world.

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Works Cited
Abramson, Larry. “Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education.” NPR.org. National Public
Radio, 30 Sept. 2007. Web.
Balogh, Andre. “Above and Beyond.” History Today 59.7 (2009): 14+. General OneFile. Web.
Bey, Lee. “Ode to the Space Race: How it Shaped Architecture and Design.” WBEZ.org.
Chicago Public Media, 2 Aug. 2011. Web.
“Cronkite and the Lunar Landing.” CBSNews.com. CBS Broadcasting Inc., 17 May 2007.
DeGroot, Jerry. “The Space Race is a Pointless Waste of Money.” The Telegraph. 25 Feb. 2009.
Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. The Essential World History. 6th ed. Boston:
Wadsworth, 2010. Print.
“The Federal Role in Education.” ED.gov. United States Department of Education, 13 Feb. 2012.
Web.
Friedlander, Whitney. “Go on a SoCal hunt for Googie Architecture.” The Baltimore Sun. 18
May 2008. Web.
Jessa, Tega. “Space Race.” Universe Today. n.p., 29 July 2009. Web.
Jones, John. Nasa Spinoff Homepage. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 10 Aug.
2011. Web.
Kennedy, John F. “We Choose the Moon.” Rice University. Houston, Texas. 12 Sept. 1962.
Address.
Kennedy, Randy. “When the Space Age Blasted Off, Pop Culture Followed.” The New York
Times. 25 Sept. 2007. Web.
Seabrook, Andrea. “Space Race Permeated Pop Culture.” NPR.org. National Public Radio, 30
Sept. 2007. Web.

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“Sputnik Declassified.” Nova. PBS. WGBH, Boston. 6 Nov. 2007. Web.
Telzrow, Michael E. “Sputnik.” The New American 1 Oct. 2007: 32-37. General OneFile. Web.