What was the Space Race?
The Space Race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War to achieve firsts in space exploration, from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The race began in October 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. The shock in the United States led to the creation of NASA in 1958 and more spending on science education. The Soviets took an early lead, sending the dog Laika into orbit in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, in April 1961.
In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy set the goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. The Soviets achieved more firsts, including the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963 and the first spacewalk, by Alexei Leonov, in 1965.
The Moon and after
The United States won the race to the Moon with Apollo 11 in July 1969. Tensions later eased, and in 1975 the Apollo-Soyuz mission saw American and Soviet spacecraft dock together in orbit, often seen as the symbolic end of the Space Race.
Did You Know?
The Space Race led to many technologies used today, including improvements in satellites, weather forecasting, computers and materials.