The Space Race


Sixty years ago today, April 12, 1961, I was only 4 years old and was not very aware of world events. But in the years that followed, I became fascinated with one particular aspect of international news: the Space Race between the USA and the USSR. It was a mostly informal competition between the two countries, a series of attempts to demonstrate scientific and technological superiority, that grew out of the animosity of the Cold War.
On this day 60 years ago, a Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the first human to fly to space. It was a remarkable and shocking achievement at the time. The US would match the feat (though with a much shorter flight) about 3 weeks later when Alan Shepard made his flight aboard "Freedom 7."
The Soviets won most of the early "firsts" in the space race, including all of these:
  • 1957, first artificial satellite
  • 1957, first living thing launched into space, a dog named Laika
  • 1959, first spacecraft to reach the moon's surface
  • 1959, first photographs of the "far side" of the moon
  • 1960, first animals (2 dogs) and plants sent to space and returned safely to earth
  • 1961, first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, completing a full orbit of the earth
  • 1963, first female in space, Valentina Tereshkova
  • 1965, first extra-vehicular activity (spacewalk)
It was not until December 1968 that the USA achieved supremacy when Apollo 8 flew to the moon with a human crew, orbited, and returned to earth. And then of course July 20, 1969 when US astronauts were first to walk on the moon. President John F. Kennedy had defined that as the ultimate goal when he stated in May 1961 that the USA would achieve the feat before the end of the decade.
Other aspects of the Cold War (for example, those involving military power and technology) were far less positive in their long-term benefits. The Space Race had remarkably positive benefits for mankind, both in scientific advances and in the economic benefits of the industry that supported it. There were amazing developments in areas such as telecommunications, computers, micro-technology, and solar power.
I #GiveThanks for the wonders of technology that so fascinated me as a young boy. We have used those developments to accomplish true wonders in so many ways in our modern world! I'm also grateful that we no longer live under the dark shadow of the Cold War. Sadly it has been replaced by other ugly conflicts, such as the impacts of terrorism and other forms of extremism. If only our science could compensate for our lack of basic morality!

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