Historical Perspective on The Space Race: Triumphs and Challenges

The Space Race! Everyone has heard the brilliant title from your great grandad to your newborn baby. Most just know that it was part of the Cold War and the USA made it to the moon first. However, many don’t look into the importance of the space race. How come after all that was going on such as the Vietnam War, the Kennedy Assassination, Civil Rights Movement, etc, was the space race still held at the limelight of our democracy and the world.

The Cold War began in 1949 with the founding of NATO. The whole “war” founded around the theory of “Containment”. This theory was born in the early 1940s by Walter Reckless contributed to the idea of keeping communism at low power and destroying it before it could spread across the globe. The United States of America ran with this theory therefore, leading to 2 important wars: Vietnam War and Korean War.

The Korean Peninsula was divided by an agreement in August of 1945. South of the 38th parallel was the free side occupied by the U.S. creating the Republic of Korea. North of the 38th was occupied by the Soviet Union. The capital, Seoul, stayed in the south with the United States. “the U.S-backed, 70-year-old Korean expatriate Syngman Rhee was elected chairman of the Korean Assembly, and later became president.” (The Korean War) 33-year-old Kim Sung led the communist party in the north with the help of China backing him. In June of 1950 after many military provocations north sent an invasion force into South Korea where they easily defeated the “ill equipped defenders” and took the capital, Seoul, in three days. In early July the US Troops were sent further back into port city of Pusan. After about 2 months U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur decided to launch an invasion force of 80,000 marines amphibiously much like the storm of Normandy Beach in WW2. This was only 6 years later than WW2 so similar effective tactics and strategies are seen. This put the U.S back into the war however, it wasn't long before Seoul was recaptured by the communists' forces even after atomic threats from President Harry S. Truman. The U.S and U.N troops eventually captured Seoul for the last time. The war continues stalemate at the 38th parallel eventually leading to a treaty signed on July 27th of 1953. This treaty creates the 2.5-mile wide kill zone we now know today as the Korean DMZ (demilitarized zone).

The Vietnam War didn't start long after the Korean War ended. In fact almost 1 year later. However, U.S involvement doesn't start for another 10 years. Between this time in 1957 USSR launched Sputnik 1 and 2. The name Sputnik directly translates to “Travel” in English. Sputnik 1 put the first artificial space satellite in the earth's atmosphere and signals back to earth. Sputnik 2 put the first dog into space; the dog's name was Laika. 1958, President Eisenhower created the most widely known space program called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1960 John F. Kennedy runs on the Space Race stance and put America in the lead. Kennedy is elected president however, the United States took another loss in the race. USSR puts

Yuri Gargain into space on April 12th of 1961 (the first astronaut). “While previously, Kennedy had deemed a manned US space program “too expensive”, he now vows to spend whatever it takes to catch up.” In 1962 the United States sent an astronaut to orbit the earth; his name is John Glenn. Between 1963 and 1969, not much happens on the space frontier. In the United States, however, President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd of 63’ while riding in a motorcade in Dallas during a campaign visit. The man who committed the assassination was none other than a recently hired worker at the Texas School Book Depository. “On Sunday morning, November 24, Oswald was scheduled to be transferred from police headquarters to the county jail. Viewers across America watching the live television coverage suddenly saw a man aim a pistol and fire at point-blank range. The assailant was identified as Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner. Oswald died two hours later at Parkland Hospital.” Approximately 9 months later in August, Congress approves direct involvement in Vietnam. This happens due to the containment theory seen by many Congress members who are proficient at the time. “March 8, 1965: [the] first marines land in Danang” It wasn’t until November the marines faced their first large scale battle. Once again much like the Korean war, North Vietnam was the communist party of the Soviet Union and the south being helped by the United States. In 66’ the US troop number had risen to 400,000 and 500,000 in 67’. Small battles were fought here and there throughout these years. Many protests in the United States broke out in 67’. The Tet Offensive begins in January of 68’. Many assaults break out from the North Vietnamese army. “January-April 1968: A U.S. Marine garrison at Khe Sanh in South Vietnam is bombarded with massive artillery by communist forces from the People’s Army of North Vietnam (PAVN). For 77 days, the marines and South Vietnamese forces fend off the siege.” After facing much backlash from U.S. citizens, President Johnson decides he will not run for a second term. This leads the country to turn towards Republican nominee Richard Nixon. His biggest campaign promise is that of restoring “law and order” to the U.S. into his first year as president, his cabinet chooses a strategy called “Vietnamization”. This tactic forces more burden on South Vietnamese troops while gradually removing soldiers from the war. In 69’ troops totaled about 550,000. By 1972 the number had dropped to just 60,000 soldiers. In March of 1972 communist leaders launched an assault onto the South Vietnamese leading a three-pronged attack. One of the most important aspects of this attack was a surprise. The North attacked the South and U.S. on Easter which the U.S does not conduct in the war on certain holidays. On January 27th, 1973 “ President Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese accept a cease fire. But as U.S. troops depart Vietnam, North Vietnamese military officials continue plotting to overtake South Vietnam.” After these almost 600 U.S. POWs are released including future senator John McCain. The end of the war draws near, the watergate scandal of President Nixon occurs with Gerald Ford taking office. Ford withdrawals from any further military action. Unfortunately, 58,000 Americans will lose their lives promoting the containment theory.

The Civil Rights Movement, was the most prominent thing in America at the time. In 1948 President Truman issued an executive order “9981”. This order ended segregation in the military which was the first big step in civil rights. Not goes on for a few more years until 1954. The infamous supreme court case Brown V. Board of Education is a huge turning point in black rights. The ultimate decision by the supreme court turned out to side with Brown. The case came from a previous case Plessy V. Ferguson that ruled separate but equal. “The Plessy v. Ferguson verdict enshrined the doctrine of “separate but equal” as a constitutional justification for segregation, ensuring the survival of the Jim Crow South for the next half-century.” Brown V. The Board of Education rules that Separate but Equal is unconstitutional and gave the right to other races to go to schools with all kids. The Civil Rights movement continues on for over 15 years with Rosa Parks, Malcom X and other Civil Rights activists and leaders. Then, in 1968, the unfortunate assiassnation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This period of history is extremely insightful and prevalent.

All together in the past three paragraphs, The Vietnam War, The Korean War, and The Civil Rights Movement, and the Kennedy assiasination prove their worth. There was a mountain of other issues and politics going on during this period. The Space Race was still held in the limelight of society. This begs the question, what makes it so important? A few men and different trips went up to the moon and got some moon rocks but never anything serious. So was the space race just a huge competition between the United States and USSR? If so, what made it so important for the United States to beat the USSR and visa versa? The competition consisted of communism versus capitalism. One side wanted to prove superior to the other. They tested what economic system could prove efficient in order to support the rocket building mania. Communism funneled their production through a few different businesses to compete for a government contract. The U.S. used NASA to put certain companies in charge of certain research. “The American space effort began to be coordinated enough to catch up with, and pull ahead of the USSR”. Thus, leading each other into many technological and scientific upgrades and improvements. “Consumer products like wireless headsets, LED lighting, portable cordless vacuums, freeze-dried foods, memory foam, scratch-resistant eyeglass lenses, and many other familiar products have all benefited from space technology research and development. Modern laptop computers are direct descendants of The Shuttle Portable Onboard Computer (SPOC), which was developed in the early 1980s for the space shuttle program. Thus, could the space race just be a way for the countries to benefit economically?