The Space and Nuclear Arms Race

1
The Space and Nuclear Arms Race
Anthony Scott, Brendan Skelly, Edward Wagner,
Peter Kotas, Tyler Malm
2
Events Leading to the Space and Nuclear Arms Race

• World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War began
• The Cold War was a political competition between
  the United States and the U.S.S.R. in which the
  two countries fought for military leadership
• Tension was high during the Cold War due to a
  lack of substantiated information rumors,
  mistrust, and misunderstandings fueled the war.

3
Events Leading to the Space and Nuclear Arms Race

• The United States and Russia began to build
  long-range rockets.
• The U.S. favored bombers
• The Soviets favored missiles and thus took an
  early lead in rocket technology
• A rocket able to carry a bomb across the globe
  could also be used to loft machines and men into
  orbit. The United States and the Soviet Union
  engaged in a long competition to develop rockets
  for both warfare and the exploration of space.

4
The Soviets Get The Atomic Bomb

• The next goal each nation competed for was the
  creation of the Intercontinental Ballistic
  Missile (ICBM) which could deliver a nuclear
  weapon from the nation's soil to its enemy's
  cities and military bases.

5
The Effects of the Nuclear Arms Race at Home

• An example of this propaganda is Bert the
  turtle, a cartoon turtle that was created to
  stress the need to take cover from flying glass
  and debris in case of a raid.

6
The Effects of the Nuclear Arms Race at Home

• His animated film contained this jingle
• ''There was a turtle by the name of Bert. And
  Bert the Turtle was very alert. When danger
  threatened him he never got hurt. He knew just
  what to do.He'd Duck and Cover. Duck and Cover.
  He did what we all must learn to do. You and you
  and you and you. Duck and Cover!''

7
Sputnik

• On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik,
  the first artificial satellite, into orbit around
  the earth.

8
Sputnik

• Sputnik weighed 184 pounds and was 23 inches in
  diameter. It sent out a "beep-beep" radio signal
  through its four antennas that scientists and ham
  radio operators throughout the world could hear.
• Sputniks signal continued until the transmitter
  batteries ran out on October 26, 1957.

9
Sputnik

• Sputnik remained in orbit until January 4, 1958,
  but burned up when re-entering earths atmosphere
• Following Sputniks successful orbit, the Soviets
  launched a series of Sputniks.

10
Sputnik

• Sputnik II, launched on November 3, 1957, carried
  a dog named Laika on board. Laika was the first
  living organism in space. She survived for only a
  few hours instead of the planned ten days because
  of overheating and stress.

11
The United States Reaction to Sputnik

• President Eisenhower felt that Sputnik was
  insignificant. However, many people disagreed and
  felt that it was a step closer to a nuclear
  attack by the Russians.
• At this point, the Soviets were basically winning
  the space race. The president was able to
  recognize this, and sent a bill to congress to
  form NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space
  Administration. Congress passed the bill.
• Senator Lyndon Johnson played an important role
  in the effort to get the bill passed. He later
  became president of the united states after John
  F. Kennedy was assassinated.

12
The First Man To Orbit The Earth

• On April 12, 1961, Yuri A. Gagarin was launched
  into space aboard the Soviet vessel Vostok I,
  making him the first human to orbit the earth.

13
The First Man To Orbit The Earth

• The ship made a single orbit around the earth,
  and the flight only lasted about 1 hour 28
  minutes.
• This was another great victory for the Soviet
  Union and a big step towards defeating the U.S.
  in the space race.

14
The New U.S. President

• In January of 1961, John F. Kennedy was
  inaugurated president of the U.S.
• After the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Kennedy wanted some
  substantial victory that would draw attention
  away from the failure as well as demonstrate
  Americas superiority over Russia.
• He announced on May 25, 1961 that he planned to
  send a man to the moon before the decade was
  through.
• Congress agreed to fund this goal.

15
The Cuban Missile Crisis

• On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy informed
  the world that the Soviet Union was building
  secret missile bases in Cuba, a mere 90 miles off
  the shores of Florida.

16
The Cuban Missile Crisis

• Kennedy demanded that Premier Khrushchev, the
  Russian leader, remove all missile bases and
  their contents. He also ordered a naval
  quarantine of Cuba.
• In response to Kennedys demands, Khrushchev
  authorized his field commanders to launch
  tactical nuclear weapons if the U.S. invaded
  Cuba.

17
The Cuban Missile Crisis

• The two leaders stayed in this deadlocked state
  for seven days.
• On October 28, Khrushchev backed down and
  conceded to Kennedys demands, thus ending the
  Cuban Missile Crisis.

18
Kennedys Death

• On November 22, 1963, not long after the Cuban
  Missile Crisis came to an end, President John F.
  Kennedy was assassinated.
• His death infuriated the nation, but also drove
  them to complete the goal of putting man on the
  moon.

19
The First American In Space

• On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard became the first
  American in space.
• Launched on top of a Redstone missile, he made a
  short, suborbital flight in a Mercury capsule.
• Later, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn became
  the first American to orbit the earth.

20
Soviet Union Advancements

• While the United States struggled to surpass
  Russia in nuclear and space traveling
  capabilities, the Russians were continuing to
  achieve more and more.
• Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the
  first woman to orbit earth. She rode aboard
  Vostok 5 on June 16-19, 1963.

21
U.S. Lands On The Moon

• On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and
  Buzz Aldrin became the first men to reach the
  moon.

22
U.S. Lands On The Moon

• Meanwhile Michael Collins orbited the moon in the
  Command Module.
• The mission was called the Apollo 11 mission.

23
The United States Wins the Space Race

• With the landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz
  Aldrin on the moon, the United States officially
  beat the Soviet Union in the space race.

24
The United States Wins the Space Race

• The Cold War continued after the Space Race until
  the break up of the Soviet Union, which would not
  occur until 20 years later.

25
After The Space Race

• Because the U.S. had demonstrated its
  superiority over Russia, there wasnt such a rush
  to make further advancements.

26
After The Space Race

• America lost interest in the moon, finishing the
  missions there with Apollo 17, and shifted its
  concentration to building the Skylab space
  station.

27
After The Space Race

• The Soviets never did send a man to the moon.
  They did, however, send a number of robot
  vehicles to survey the moons surface.
• These robots were called Lunokhod, and they sent
  back all video footage and photographs they took
  of the moon.

28
After The Space Race

• After many years of desperate research, testing,
  hard work, and sacrifice, the Russians had lost
  the space race and the United States had emerged
  victorious.