How the Space Race Fueled Innovation

Highlights of the Space Race

V-2 Rocket launching

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Missile technology started with German and American ideas. The V-2 rocket was a jumpstart for programs in the U.S. and U.S.S.R. at the start of the Cold War. In the 1950s, U.S. armed services competed to develop missiles, causing confusion.

Coruna, spying on the Soviets

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In 1958, President Eisenhower authorized a secret satellite project called Coruna. The project's goal, managed by the Air Force and CIA, was to take pictures of the U.S.S.R. This led to future  programs with spy satellites warning of enemy attack and identifying potential targets. U.S. and Soviet militaries started the Space Race because they wanted long-range rockets to go over the ocean, put satellites in space, and land a man on the moon.

"One small step for man..."

Neil Armstrong’s words after setting foot on the moon will be remembered forever. This event ended the moon race with the U.S. victorious.

The "blue marble"

The Space Race virtually ended with the U.S. winning the moon race. Seeing images of Earth from space, like this one taken from the Galileo, helped everyone realize the fragility of Earth's thin atmosphere as well as the beauty of the "blue marble." 

The Apollo-Soyuz Project

Growth of space technology thrived. The first multinational manned mission, the Apollo-Soyuz project in 1975 was supervised by the U.S. and U.S.S.R., only three years after the last Apollo landing. The U.S. and U.S.S.R. cooperated on this project until the Cold War ended in 1991.
The Space Race led much innovation, as its legacy affected the world and touches our everyday lives.