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During the second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States fought against Germany as allies, but when the war ended, their alliance fell and the fight for national supremacy began.
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Sputnik1 was the first satellite to be sent into orbit from Earth. The launch was initiated by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Following the success of Sputnik1, the USSR sent Laika the dog in Sputnik 2 into orbit.
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The United States launched their first satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit only a few months after the USSR's first launch.
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After the launch of the American Explorer satellites and Soviet Sputnik, there was a debate throughout the government debating the need for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Should it be a military agency focusing on missiles and Air Force work, or civilian agency? On April 2 Eisenhower drafted the National Aeronautics and Space Agency legislature, and on July 28, the United States Congress passed the organization.
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Luna 1, launched by the USSR, became the first man-made object to orbit the moon after its launch in 1959. This was the first of 24 satellites in the Luna Programme, all of which were projected to orbit and eventually land on the moon.
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In May of 1961, President John F. Kennedy made his famous speech challenging mankind to go to the moon. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." This speech pushed the U.S. further into the Space Race, inspiring the nation to band together to beat their Russian opponents in the race past the limits.
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In October 1962, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was housing nuclear weapons in Cuba, only 90mi from the U.S. shore. JFK responded by sending naval troops to surround the Cuban bay while the National Security Council met daily. Fidel Castro, fearing a U.S. attack on Cuba, tried to persuade the Russian Premier to launch a first nuclear strike against the United States. The crisis ended with Soviet Union removing the missiles and the U.S. pledging to keep peace with Cuba.
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One month before its planned launch on February 21, the Apollo 1 shuttle caught fire while Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were training inside. The three men were not able to escape. Although tragic, it pushed NASA to look further into any problems and potential problems, which helped further the safety of the following Apollo missions, which were eventually successful in being the first American manned shuttle to land on the moon.
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On their Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon, fulfilling JFK's promise to reach the moon, and winning the Space Race for the United States. After this, the Soviet Union retracted their space programs. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
