Space Race

The Space Race, an informal competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975. It involved the parallel efforts by each of those countries to explore outer space with artificial satellites, to send humans into space, and to land people on the moon.

Legacy of the Space Race

Advances in technology and education

Technology, especially in aerospace engineering and electronic communication, advanced greatly during this period. The effects of the Space Race however went far beyond rocketry, physics, and astronomy. "Space age technology" extended to fields as diverse as home economics and forest defoliation studies, and the push to win the race changed the very ways in which students learned science.

Related Topics:
Aerospace engineering - Electronic - Communication

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American concerns that they had fallen so quickly behind Russia in the race to space led quickly to a push by legislators and educators for greater emphasis on mathematics and on the physical sciences in U.S. schools. America's National Defense Education Act of 1958 increased funding for these goals from childhood education through the post-graduate level.

Related Topics:
National Defense Education Act - 1958

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The scientists fostered by these efforts helped develop for space exploration technologies which have seen adapted uses ranging from the kitchen to athletic fields. Dried and ready-to-eat foods, stay-dry clothing, and even no-fog ski goggles have their roots in space science.

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Today over a thousand artificial satellites orbit earth, relaying communications data around the planet and facilitating remote sensing of data on weather, vegetation, and human movements to nations who employ them. In addition, much of the micro-technology which fuels everyday activities from time-keeping to enjoying music derives from research initially driven by the Space Race.

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The USSR remained the undisputed leader in rocketry, even up to the end of the Cold War. The U.S. became superior in electronics, remote sensing, vehicle guidance, and robotic control.

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More "space races" to come?

Although its pace has slowed, space exploration continues to advance long after the demise of the Space Race. The USA launched the first reusable spacecraft (space shuttle) on the 20th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, April 12 1981. On November 15 1988, the USSR launched Buran, the first and only automatic reusable spacecraft. These and other nations continue to launch probes, satellites of many types, and huge space telescopes.

Related Topics:
Space exploration - Space shuttle - April 12 - 1981 - November 15 - 1988 - Buran

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The possibility of a second international space race appeared at the end of the 20th century, with the European Space Agency taking the lead in commercial rocket launches with Ariane 4, and competing in unmanned space exploration with NASA. ESA's efforts have culminated into ambitious plans such as the Aurora Programme that intends to send a human mission to Mars no later than 2030, and has set various flagship missions to reach this goal. With US President Bush's similar announcement in 2004, outlining a timeframe for the construction and mission plan of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (a subsequent return to the Moon and later to Mars by 2030), the two major space agencies have similar plans. As of 2005 ESA might have a headstart, as it has teamed up with Russia. They are likely to co-fund and develop the CEV counterpart Kliper spacecraft that is scheduled to first launch in 2011, years earlier than its American opponent, which is yet in an early draft status.

Related Topics:
European Space Agency - Ariane 4 - NASA - ESA - Aurora Programme - Mars - 2030 - 2004 - Crew Exploration Vehicle - Moon - 2005 - CEV - Kliper - 2011

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Other nations are also capable of increasing competition in space exploration. Although funding is not in the same league with ESA or NASA, the successful manned space flight of Shenzhou 5 by the People's Republic of China has shown what other countries can achieve.

Related Topics:
Shenzhou 5 - People's Republic of China

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Another kind of space race may differ in nature from the original Soviet-American competition, as it could occur between commercial space enterprises. Early efforts in what is commonly referred to as space tourism, to run the first commercial trips into orbit, culminated on April 28 2001 when American Dennis Tito became the first fee-paying space tourist when he visited the International Space Station on board Russia's Soyuz TM-32. The Ansari X Prize, a competition for private suborbital spaceships, has also evoked the prospect of a new space race by private companies. In late 2004, British aviator-financier Richard Branson announced the launch of Virgin Galactic, a company which will use SpaceShipOne technology, with hopes of launching sub-orbital flights by 2008.

Related Topics:
Space tourism - April 28 - 2001 - Dennis Tito - International Space Station - Soyuz TM-32 - Ansari X Prize - Private suborbital spaceships - Richard Branson - Virgin Galactic - SpaceShipOne - 2008

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