The Space Race
- In 1957 the soviets launch the first Earth-orbiting satellite named Sputnik.
- About the size of a basketball and only made beeps
- People feared that atomic weapons would soon be delivered without airplanes
- This gave the USSR an upper hand and they began to demand concessions
ICBMs and delivery systems
- (ICBM) inter continental ballistic missile
- MIRVs (multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles)
- nuclear submarines
- M.A,D. (mutually assured destruction)
- Pre-emptive strike SAC (strategic air command) planes flying 24 hours a day.
Summary: Krushchev states that USSR wants to peacefully coexist with USA, after many years of competition. The nations did not violently fight eachother; however, they did battle academically, greatly advancing technology and introducing satellites, ICBM's, nuclear submarines and putting the first man on the moon.
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Quote: "Don't tell me that man doesn't belong out there. Man belongs wherever he wants to go - and he'll do plenty well when he gets there."
-Wernher von Braun, 1958 |
Subjunctive question: Would the US have had the upper hand if they had created the first earth orbiting satellite?
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