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The Space Race was a competition between Cold War rivals, the USSR and the United States for dominance in spaceflight. At the beginning of the race, there was the very real possibility that NASA would not win. In fact, the Soviets beat the Americans to many space firsts. However, at the end of the day, NASA came out ahead. Check out below for the top 10 events in the history of NASA and the space race.
#10. First American in Space
At the beginning of the space race, the United States was behind the USSR. In an attempt to try and catch up, on May 5, 1961, the US sent astronaut Alan Shepard in Freedom 7 into space. He was the first American in space. However, he only stayed in space for a total of 15 minutes and 28 seconds.[1]Scholastic – Space First
#9. John Glenn orbits Earth
The next great step for the US in the space race came on February 20, 1962. On this day, John Glenn became the first American in history to orbit the Earth in the Mercury-Atlas 6. He was the third American in space. During his mission, Glenn actually orbited the Earth 3 times.[2]The Telegraph – Race timeline: when the US and USSR squared up
However, what was really amazing about his flight was the amazing NASA female “human computers” that worked behind the scene. Amazing mathematicians such as Katherine G. Johnson, who calculated by hand Glenn’s flight trajectories, helped make his flight possible.
#8. Discoverer 1 spy satellite launches
The Discoverer 1 was the first satellite launched by the US in the space race. It was a test of the guidance system and propulsion and for the booster systems for future satellites. It was the first man made object to ever be put into polar orbit. In 1995, the CIA revealed declassified reports saying that “most people believe the Discoverer 1 landed somewhere near the South Pole.”[3]EDN – Discoverer 1 spy satellite launches, February 28, 1959
At the time, the Discoverer 1 and the Corona program’s aims were top secret and the public didn’t know about them. At the time, the public believed that they were part of a program to test satellite systems and test for the future of humans in space. However, the real time, the real reason for the Corona program was actually to spy on the USSR. The US wanted to be able to take pictures and bring back information about the USSR’s ballistic missile and long-range bomber capabilities. It was intended to replace the U2 spy planes.
#7. The United States launches the first primates into space
On May 28, 1959, the US made a big leap in the space race when they successfully launched two monkeys, rhesus monkey Able and squirrel monkey Baker, into space and were able to successfully bring them back alive to earth. They reached an altitude of 300 miles above the earth’s surface.[4]npr – After 50 Years, Space Monkeys Not Forgotten Unfortunately, Able died many days later due to complications from an operation when doctors where trying to remove electrodes from under her skin.
#6. The United States launches Telstar 1, the first satellite to broadcast television signals across the Atlantic
On July 10, 1962, the US took a big step in the space race, when they launched Telstar 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first telecommunications satellite into space. The project was a joint venture between NASA and AT&T. On that day, they were able to transmit the first TV signal across the Atlantic Ocean from Andover, Maine to Europe. The first TV signal showed a waving American flag.[5]Space.com – Remembering ‘Telstar’: 40th Anniversary of First Satellite TV Transmission Observed in Maine
The reason that the team chose the remote town of Andover was because it was both surrounded by mountains as well as far enough away from microwave waves so as to avoid interference with its signal.
In addition to the the first satellite TV signal, the first satellite call was also done on that day through Telstar 1 when Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington DC called the chairman of AT&T, Fred Kappel.
Unfortunately, Telstar didn’t last long and only remained operational until February 1963. However, the Andover Earth Station is still active to this day.
#5. Mariner 2 is the first spacecraft sent to another planet
In 1962, Mariner 2 became the first human spacecraft to fly by another planet, when it went to Venus. However, it also had many other firsts. At this point in the space race, everything was new. As such, mistakes were quite common. Mariner 2, helped teach NASA scientists how to operate spacecraft far from Earth. A few of the things that Mariner 2 was able to accomplish were measuring the sun’s solar winds, confirm that the temperature of Venus was hot enough to melt lead, and reveal that Venus was a very different planet than Earth.
Mariner 2 actually had a twin, Mariner 1. As part of NASA’s strategy to overcome potential spacecraft failures, they built every spacecraft at the time in pairs. In fact, Mariner 1 had launched first on July 22, 1962, but due to improper guidance controls in the spacecraft, its flight lasted only 293 seconds. After correcting these mistakes, Mariner 2 successfully launched on August 27, 1962.
One of the reasons that Venus was chosen is because it is a very bright planet that can be easily seen from the surface of the earth. However, because clouds cover its surface, we can’t see it. Therefore, naturally, it presented a perfect opportunity to send a spacecraft to get closer and learn more about it. However, interestingly, the designers of the spacecraft decided to not add a camera to it. According to Carl Sagan, one of the designers, the reason was “There were those who maintained that cameras weren’t really scientific instruments, but rather catch-as-catch-can, razzle-dazzle, pandering to the public, and unable to answer a single, straightforward, well-posed scientific question.”[6]Space.com – Mariner 2: First Spacecraft to Another Planet
#4. The space shuttle launches a new era in space exploration
When the first space shuttle, Columbia, launched, it ushered in a new age of space travel and exploration. It allowed NASA to go into space for a fraction of the cost by reusing the same ship over and over again. In total, NASA made 5 working space shuttles: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Between 1981 and 2011, these five space shuttles performed more than 135 trips and carried over 850 astronauts.[7]Space.com – Space Shuttle Launches New Era in Exploration | The Greatest Moments in Flight
On April 12, 1981, Columbia became the first reusable spacecraft to fly. In addition, it was the first American manned mission that fly without first having a unmanned test flight as well as the first manned mission that used solid fuel rockets. It also was designed to glide back to earth on its wings, unlike other space craft which fell to Earth with a parachute. Furthermore, unlike following space shuttle missions, the only goal of this first mission was to test out the ship.
#3. Sally Ride become the first American woman in space
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space on the space shuttle Challenger for its seventh mission.[8]Space.com – Sally Ride: First American Woman in Space During the mission, she helped both launch and retrieve satellites using the space shuttle’s robotic arm. In fact, she was the first women in history to use a robotic arm in space.
She joined the space shuttle program in 1978, after graduating from Stanford University with a PhD and beating out thousands of other applicants. She was part of NASA’s first six females to go into spaceflight training.
Before Ride could go into space, she had to get some experience working in ground support. Ride worked as a capsule communicator for both the 2nd and third space shuttle flights. However, this was not Ride’s only trip to space. In fact, she was also the first American woman to go into space. She went on another Challenger space shuttle mission on October 5, 1984.
#2. The Challenger shuttle disaster
On January 28, 1986, one of the worst events in the history of space travel happened, when the Challenger space shuttle exploded only 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on it.[9]Space.com – Remembering Challenger: Shuttle Disaster and Others Refocus NASA While other accidents have happened during the course of the space race, what made this one even worse was that the incident took place on live TV and in front of spectators. The report cited a chunk of insulation from the fuel tank had damaged the space shuttle’s wing.
Due to the accident, all space travel was halted while scientists and engineers attempted to find the root cause to the problem. In fact, it took NASA more than two years, before they were confident it sending up another space shuttle into space. According to NASA chief Michael Griffin, “Spaceflight is the most technically challenging things nations do…it is difficult, it is dangerous and it is expensive, given the technology we have today.”
#1. Apollo 11 Moon landing
The most important event in the history of the space race was the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969.[10]History Lists – 6 Key Events of the Race On this day, Neil Armstrong became the first man to ever walk on the moon. The whole world got to see him on TV. This event was the keystone achievement that claimed victory for the United States over the USSR in the space race. While the USSR, had planned to also send men to the moon by 1969, they quickly scrapped that plan.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent about 2 hours and 15 minutes walking around on the surface of the moon. During their mission, they collected about 47.5 pounds of moon rocks to bring back to be studied on Earth. Their total time on the moon was around 21.5 hours.
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