The Space Race Explained

The Beginnings of the Space Race

Following the Second World War, a Soviet rocket engineer and missile designer named Sergei Korolev was hard at work. He designed the R-7 rocket with dreams of sending a satellite into space. Though, at this point in 1953, space was the last thing on his superiors' minds. They wanted to use the rocket to fire nuclear weapons should the need arise.

Desperate to keep up with the Soviets, US President Eisenhower announced that America would launch a series of satellites as part of the International Geophysical Year. He carefully framed it this way to obscure the mission's true purpose: launching a reconnaissance satellite to spy on the USSR.

Sputnik: The Starting Gun

In 1956, the Soviet Union's Council of Ministers finally approved the construction of an Earth-orbiting satellite. In January 1957, a simpler satellite called 'Object PS' was proposed. It became better known by its nickname, Sputnik. Launching Sputnik was now the Soviets' top priority and came to fruition quickly. On 3rd October 1957, Soviet scientists watched the take-off with bated breath. One hundred and one minutes later, the control room erupted with cheers. Sputnik's signal had been received on Earth, meaning the Soviets had successfully launched the first man-made satellite into orbit.

The Birth of NASA

News of the launch reached the Americans, who did not take it well. Efforts to put their own satellite into the atmosphere were doubled. Their morale took another blow just two months later when a second Soviet craft was launched, this time carrying a dog named Laika – the first-ever living creature to orbit the Earth.

In January 1958, the Americans finally launched their own satellite. Eisenhower knew that sending humans into space would be the next landmark achievement – and he wanted to win that stage of the race. He centralised the United States' efforts under a civilian organisation, calling it the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA for short.

The First Men in Space

Even with the formation of NASA, the Soviets continued to streak ahead. They sent two more dogs into space, and this time returned them safely to Earth. This paved the way for the first human to exit the Earth's atmosphere. Again, it was the Soviets who got there first. In April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth.

It was a blow to NASA, but not a decisive one. They had their own launches planned. Just twenty-three days after Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight, Alan Shepard blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, becoming the first American in space. 

With both countries vying for supremacy, thoughts turned to Earth's nearest neighbour: the Moon.

A Rocky Start

In the early 1960s, the Soviets sent multiple spacecraft to the Moon. Some crashed onto the surface; others flew around to the Moon's dark side and snapped the first-ever photographs.

The Soviets were winning the space race, but their plans to put a man on the Moon began to hit roadblocks around 1963. The Soviet space programme did not have a centralised organisation like NASA. With funding spread across multiple missions rather than focused on a single goal, the lunar programme's resources were diluted.

Over in America, President Kennedy gave rousing speeches about space travel. But it seemed that he was only paying lip service. Indeed, in one meeting with his advisors and NASA administrator James Webb, Kennedy said point-blank: 'I'm not interested in space.' He even proposed approaching the Soviets – the enemy – about a joint Moon mission, something that never got off the ground.

President Kennedy’s Death Inspires the American Public

Sadly, not long after this meeting, John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Some believe that, in a roundabout way, the tragic death of President Kennedy actually salvaged America's missions in space. In private, he may have cooled on the idea. But because of his fervent public pronouncements in 1961 and 1962, the race to the Moon was now seen as a way to honour the President's memory. America was set on getting to the Moon by the end of the decade, at any cost.

The Moon Landing

On July 20th, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon's surface in a lunar module called the Eagle. Above them, orbiting in Earth's atmosphere, was Michael Collins. Before the launch, debate about who would be the first person to set foot on the Moon had gone back and forth. Buzz Aldrin was adamant that he should be the first.

Buzz had argued that the captain was supposed to stay with the ship and leave last. But Neil had said, “I'm going to go out first. I'm the commander.”

Robert Godwin, historian of the space race

Six hundred million people worldwide listened on their radios or watched their black and white televisions in awe as Neil Armstrong descended the module’s ladder. His boots touched the rocky surface, and he uttered the immortal words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Minutes later, Buzz Aldrin followed him. They took photographs, collected rock samples and planted the American flag on the moon’s surface - signalling a decisive victory for the Americans.

The crew of Apollo 11 returned to Earth two weeks later as global heroes.