Before the Space Race started, the American Government had little intention of sending anyone, or anything into space. That all changed because of Russia. At the time Russia and America were always trying to top the other country, to show that they are more powerful. So when Russia was the first to launch a satellite (Sputnik) into space, the US was shocked. The US believed it was the strongest, and most advanced country in the world. It was a national arrogance the country shared. Some people believed that the Russian communists were trying to control space before we could, and the government took this as a challenge.
Soon after Sputnik, in April 1961, Russia launched the first man into space: Yuri Gagarin. The US was soon far behind the Russians in space technology. They had started up NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and John F. Kennedy made an announcement that they planned to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
There were many many questions regarding the trip to the moon. Obviously nothing like this had ever happened before in history, so there was little information to back up these questions. Some thought new colonies would be on the moon, or we would mine resources, even that we would meet new life forms.
We had thousands of brains working to prepare for the journey, talented astronauts who risked their lives to test rockets that in some cases exploded. It all cost $25.5 million, this money came from earnings of American citizens through taxes.
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the name for the plan for America to send it's first man into space. This would greatly help for getting information on how to get a man to the moon, and it was also good practice. Alan B. Shepard went on this one man trip into a tiny ship called Freedom 7.
Many smart people worked on this project but they forgot one thing, a bathroom. Shepard ended up having to go in his spacesuit! The trip overall lasted 15 minutes into space and arched back down into the ocean. There were seven Mercury flights, some lasted longer than others, the longest was 34 hours long. This project was the building block to preparing to send a man to the moon.
Gemini
The next step for space was Gemini. This was meant to test rendezvous and docking between two ships. It was a two man project and the Gemini ship was meant to reach a small ship named Agena. Once it met up the ships linked together and the astronauts left their ships to go into space while still attached to a cord. This was another big step because the Gemini was a new and improved ship, it was much larger and could be steered.
The Moon Landing
]July 16, 1969 on Florida's East Coast. Near 80,000 people were packed to witness one of the most important times in Aerospace technology. Three men were strapped inside of the space shuttle called Saturn. Neil Armstrong, a civilian pilot, known as one of the best pilots in the nation. Edwin Aldrin, everyone called him Buzz. He was an airforce colonel with a very scientific mind that helped a lot on this mission. And Michael Collins, another airforce officer. His job was to pilot the shuttle while the other to astronauts landed on the moon. The flight to the moon took 3 days total. This was a very amazing mission not only that it was the first time anyone had been on the moon, but this mission was televised. People in their own homes could be in the space shuttle with Armstrong, Buzz, and Collins. It was astounding to people. When Neil and Buzz landed on the moon, everyone was there with them, experiencing it for themselves like they never imagined. Neil was the first to step down on the moon, and this is when Neil Armstrong said his infamous line: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." This was the start, to a whole new beginning in space technology. New missions were being prepared to go to new places, to learn new things, never known before.
The Space Race
The Challenge
Before the Space Race started, the American Government had little intention of sending anyone, or anything into space. That all changed because of Russia. At the time Russia and America were always trying to top the other country, to show that they are more powerful. So when Russia was the first to launch a satellite (Sputnik) into space, the US was shocked. The US believed it was the strongest, and most advanced country in the world. It was a national arrogance the country shared. Some people believed that the Russian communists were trying to control space before we could, and the government took this as a challenge.Soon after Sputnik, in April 1961, Russia launched the first man into space: Yuri Gagarin. The US was soon far behind the Russians in space technology. They had started up NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and John F. Kennedy made an announcement that they planned to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
There were many many questions regarding the trip to the moon. Obviously nothing like this had ever happened before in history, so there was little information to back up these questions. Some thought new colonies would be on the moon, or we would mine resources, even that we would meet new life forms.
We had thousands of brains working to prepare for the journey, talented astronauts who risked their lives to test rockets that in some cases exploded. It all cost $25.5 million, this money came from earnings of American citizens through taxes.
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the name for the plan for America to send it's first man into space. This would greatly help for getting information on how to get a man to the moon, and it was also good practice. Alan B. Shepard went on this one man trip into a tiny ship called Freedom 7.Many smart people worked on this project but they forgot one thing, a bathroom. Shepard ended up having to go in his spacesuit! The trip overall lasted 15 minutes into space and arched back down into the ocean. There were seven Mercury flights, some lasted longer than others, the longest was 34 hours long. This project was the building block to preparing to send a man to the moon.
Gemini
The next step for space was Gemini. This was meant to test rendezvous and docking between two ships. It was a two man project and the Gemini ship was meant to reach a small ship named Agena. Once it met up the ships linked together and the astronauts left their ships to go into space while still attached to a cord. This was another big step because the Gemini was a new and improved ship, it was much larger and could be steered.The Moon Landing
]July 16, 1969 on Florida's East Coast. Near 80,000 people were packed to witness one of the most important times in Aerospace technology. Three men were strapped inside of the space shuttle called Saturn. Neil Armstrong, a civilian pilot, known as one of the best pilots in the nation. Edwin Aldrin, everyone called him Buzz. He was an airforce colonel with a very scientific mind that helped a lot on this mission. And Michael Collins, another airforce officer. His job was to pilot the shuttle while the other to astronauts landed on the moon. The flight to the moon took 3 days total. This was a very amazing mission not only that it was the first time anyone had been on the moon, but this mission was televised. People in their own homes could be in the space shuttle with Armstrong, Buzz, and Collins. It was astounding to people. When Neil and Buzz landed on the moon, everyone was there with them, experiencing it for themselves like they never imagined. Neil was the first to step down on the moon, and this is when Neil Armstrong said his infamous line: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." This was the start, to a whole new beginning in space technology. New missions were being prepared to go to new places, to learn new things, never known before.