Preview

Write An Essay On The Sputnik

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1073 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Write An Essay On The Sputnik
The Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union and sparked a change in history that would greatly alter two already feuding places - the USA and the USSR. The “Space Age” or “Space Race” was a race between Russia and the United States for the supremacy of outer space. The Sputnik satellite led to additional funding for the space program in the United States, and the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The creation of the Sputnik I affected both the USA, the Soviet Union, and the rest of the world by leading to sending the first humans into space and onto the moon, the creation of NASA, other space exploration devices such as the Mars rover, and new technologies such as …show more content…
The Soviet Union reported that a week into orbit, she was euthanized and died painlessly. BBC news reported in 2002 that this may have been untrue. Laika almost definitely died of panic and overheating when humidity and temperature went up after lift off.

Sergei Korolev was the designer of the Sputnik, in addition to the first manned spacecraft. Korolev was from the Soviet Union, but a poor Communist and was arrested and worked hard labor for a year, but was rescued by a friend and assigned to a top-secret engineering project in Moscow. This helped pave the way for his request to build a non-military satellite to be approved on July 30, 1955. By August 1957, his spaceship was ready.

After the Sputnik’s success was transmitted back to Earth by a series of blips, the Soviets were stunned and thrilled. Unfortunately, in the United States, everyone was indeed stunned but also afraid. They worried that the USSR’s ability to launch a satellite also translated to them being able to launch a nuclear missile. This was in the middle of the cold war, and a terrifying thought, but it also made the Americans to try even harder for the success, yet subsequent failure, of their ship, the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was the lead rocket engineer for the soviets during the space race, while Wernher Von Braun was the lead for the U.S. rocket program. The beginning and first mission of the space race started with the Soviet launch of Sputnik the first ever satellite to be launched into space, it was meant to be a satellite to orbit around the earth and was a success. The Soviets were not sure wether it was a success or not when it was first launched, so they didn 't immediately celebrate. They waited and after about an hour and a half they heard the beeps from the satellite over the radio and celebrated a successful mission. The U.S. responded about four months after Sputnik 's launch by successfully launching their first satellite named Explorer. This was about the end of the early Space Race and the mid Space Race began in the 1960 's.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How did Americans react to the launch of Sputnik I and the Soviet Union during the space race? On October 4, 1957, America’s fears went into orbit as the Soviet Union launched its first artificial Earth satellite into space. This was quickly followed by Sputnik II, famously containing a canine passenger, Laika, and was then dramatically surpassed by the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. The US, in contrast, failed to respond effectively taking several attempts before launching its own…

    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Space Race was the closets the United States has come to losing it superpower title to other nations. The Space race was a twelve-year competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to explore the Solar System. This race began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union deployed an artificial satellite called, Sputnik to orbit in space. Sputnik created a sense of fear in the United States that the Soviet Union had “reached the heavens” with the use of technological advancements. The President of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev used Sputnik as a symbol of how powerful “social superiority” was in comparison to capitalism. On January 31, 1958, the United States launched a satellite into orbit called, Explorer 1. Explorer 1 collected…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Vanguard Project History

    • 2257 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Lyndon B. Johnson, Senate preparedness Subcommittee chairman, immediately began a “full, complete, and exhaustive inquiry into the state of the nation’s satellite and missile efforts (Lyndon B. Johnson quoted in Vanguard – A History).” The Vanguard project had received ultimate priority in military initiatives and, as a result, received a needed boost in men, materials, and money. This drastic increase in effort on the part of everyone involved had culminated in greater testing and development of Vanguard project rockets. Despite multiple failures throughout 1957 and 1958, their efforts culminated in a successful launch on January 31st, 1958. Explorer 1 left the launch pad at cape Canaveral and, at last, the United States had proven their worth in space exploration (Office of the Historian). Despite their eventual success, the political ramifications of “losing” the first milestone of the space race were lasting. The United States had developed newfound conviction in the space race, now aware of their adversaries’ potential; additionally, the creation of NASA had cemented space exploration’s place in the US government and budget. The United States’ delayed reaction, only prioritizing space exploration after the Soviet display of their technology, highlighted the competitive nature of the nation. Had the Soviets not succeeded…

    • 2257 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Soviet Union, on October 4, 1957, launched, Sputnik, the first satellite, into space. This has commonly been noted as the event that distinctly marks the beginning of the “new math” revolution. The launch of Sputnik created the awareness that the United States was behind in the era of developments in science and technology. Feeling an awareness to gain reign in the field of aeronautics and technology, both United States Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy called for added spending on education. The added spending was directed in the areas of math and science for study and growth, which led to progress in technology. Out of this call came the “new math” era.…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race Project 1

    • 542 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The United States During the Space Race  Attempts to launch a satellite “Folpnik” or  “Kaputnik”   Steps towards ultimate goal: The Moon Mercury Program  Gemini Program  Apollo Program  The Soviet Union During the Space Race     Successful Satellite Launches Vostok series of rockets Soyuz series or rockets Lunokhod unmanned robot vehicles Winner of the Race     On July 20, 1969 the crew of Apollo 11 landed on the moon.…

    • 542 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race Research Paper

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    During the time right after the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in a “Space Race” to see which country could get a man on the moon first and ultimately claim space for their nation. The Soviet Union led the way by sending the first satellite into space and then the first human. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first human to go into space and make a complete orbit around the earth. Yuri was a Russian Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He became an international celebrity over night. He returned to earth as a national hero in his country. His flight is still the shortest flight, 108 minutes from launch to landing. Although Yuri moved up the ranks in the Soviet Air Force, he was banned from the space program.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Understanding the history of Neil Armstrong’s Moon walk is not complete without reference to the Cold War and the Soviet space achievements which ran parallel to those of the United States. The Cold War was the catalyst that would turn the highly speculative and romanticized vision of space travel into an unquestionable reality. Competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was fierce. The two world superpowers were engaged in a race to see who would be able to successfully send their men to walk across the surface of the Moon first. The USSR’s launch of the Sputnik sattellite, and Laika the dog in 1957 marked the beginnings of the Space Race. The U.S. quickly countered in 1958 by sending satellites of it’s own, the Explorer and Vanguard and organizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In effect, the Soviet Union would set the bar for which the United States would aim to surpass. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin of the USSR became the first man to orbit the earth. This was also the year of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, when he commits the United States to the goal of landing the first man on the moon before the completion of the decade. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, it became unclear whether this task would be possible for the country to reach.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sputnik Paper

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Almost every country wanted to take part in the race to put the first man on the moon. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union started the battle by springing the world into this great space race by the launching of Sputnik I. Sputnik was the first satellite to be launched into Earth’s orbit, a task which no one else had been successful in nor fully concerned in trying. However, once the Soviet Union made the first move, it sent not only the United States into a panic, but everyone else as well. By far the biggest surprise of Sputnik’s launching was the fact no one envisioned its success. The Soviets caught the world off guard with their new satellite, even when talk of the satellite had occurred months in advance. After this historical event, many Americans began to question everything happening around them. What was the Soviet Union’s true mission behind the launch? If they made a satellite, what other technological advancements could they secretively be working on? What does America need to do as a country to protect itself against these forces? With all of these questions…

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race Research Paper

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Space and Arms race was an event during the Cold War. It was a test to see…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Out of this article, it goes to show that scientific research has come a long way and has evolved in many different forms. There have been many different influential individuals, all of whom had different professions (some of them not being in the scientific area of research). Nonetheless, the idea that technological advances weren’t always present in the United States may shock some individuals growing up in today’s society. The idea that the Soviet Union’s Sputnik launching was what encouraged and started the invention, mediation, and creation of these technological advances is something that intrigues me. The main reason why is because there have been so many things that have influenced many different aspects of the U.S., and knowing that…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Space exploration has always been fascinating, and it gives us hope of finding something new. According to the video “Space Race: 20th Century Timeline and Firsts,” “though the idea of space travel was discussed for hundreds of years, the field of rocketry got its first big boost in the early 20th century.” A century ago, space exploration was just a concept or a dream for mankind, but this idea had been accomplished by the developed of powerful rocket which overcome the force of gravity. In the beginning, on March 16, 1926 an American physicist, Robert A. Goddard, launched the first liquid fuel rocket in history. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union created their own missile programs. On October 4th 1957, the Soviets launched the first satellite into space. Later on, a national goal of “Landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth within a decade” was set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 (Space Race). On July 20, 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man walking onto the moon. The space exploration improved for the century, and now the advances of technology have pushed space travel to go further and discover other planets in solar system. However, in order to explore universe in details, many scientists have endeavored very hard to invent more new high technologies. Therefore, with its high technologies, space exploration has a lot of impacts on us today. For example, with the satellite system put up in the space, the weather forecast today has a high accuracy level, and this accuracy has helped in preventing many calamities. Besides the weather forecast, the satellite system also helps people to transmit the news or media all over the world almost instantly. Moreover, the researching space becomes a high paying jobs for many…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Three, two, one, blast off. The ship went up in smoke as it rose to the atmosphere and launched the first satellite into space. This achievement started the Space Race. The race to the Moon would be an excruciating and long task for the U.S. and the Soviet Union.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Space Race

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages

    i. Fear and astonishment of the US, because they inferred since the Soviet Union had rockets powerful enough to launch a satellite then they had rockets powerful enough to launch atomic bombs on the US…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Space Race

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages

    On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space, The Sputnik I. This was detrimental to the U.S. because it meant that they were losing the space race. The Soviets showed the U.S. that they now had the capability to launch satellites and nuclear warheads into space. America quickly answered back with the launch of Explorer I, which was the first American made satellite to orbit around Earth. This achievement by the U.S. led Eisenhower to form the National Aeronautics and Space Admission (NASA). The organization was founded to study and build space exploration vehicles and scientific experiments. Soon after the formation of NASA, the Soviets launched the first man into the orbit of Earth, heating up the space race. Nearly a month later, NASA launched Alan Shepard into space, making him the second man to exit Earth’s atmosphere.…

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays