How the Space Race Changed America Research Paper

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American history that have changed the arc and path of society and culture forever. A few recent examples would include the emergence of the World Wide Web in the 1990's, social media more recently as well as the general progress made with the automobile and other modes of transportation. However, the one technological arc in the last century that has perhaps changed things more than anything else has been the so-called Space Race. Indeed, with the launching of the Russian Sputnik, President Eisenhower enacted the Space Race and this would forever change the landscapes of education, politics and economics for the United States for many decades.

When Russia rendered its major accomplishment that was Sputnik, they certainly reveled and celebrated the fact that they had beat Western countries like the United States and Britain to space. One account of the aftermath of Sputnik's success came from a British perspective. It is noted that the reaction included "an initial outpouring of surprise combined with celebration of humankind's achievement." However, it was noted that there was also "a sense of loss of national prestige, due to Britain's lack of an equivalent space program and the decline of her empire." It was revealed in future months and years that it impacted the "British society and understanding of national identity in the 1950's with imperial superiority, religion and perceived decline being recurring themes." Similar thought patterns and feelings emerged in the United States over the same time period [footnoteRef:1]. [1: Barnett, Nicholas. 2013. "RUSSIA WINS SPACE RACE'." Media History 19, no. 2: 182-195. Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 3, 2015).]

Of course, the man who spearheaded the American response was then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Noted professor Yanek Mieczkowski asserted that the launching of the Sputnik satellite was a "defining episode" in the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. Further, he asserted that it spurred the United States to strive for a "come from behind victory" against the Russians and their space program. One has to know the momentum of the United States in the 1950's to truly realize what a blow Sputnik was to the American ego and consciousness. Indeed, the 1950's was a time where economic and technological development was progressing at a great clip and it thus promised a bright future for all Americans. There were indeed social and cultural problems during that same time frame and those cannot be ignored. However, the reaction to Sputnik and what happened after Sputnik was successfully launch was something that truly change the course of American and human history on this planet and beyond. By modern standards, Sputnik was not that much of an accomplishment nor was it all that impressive. Indeed, it was an "insignificant little metal ball" that measured about sixty centimeters in diameter. It circled the world a mere six hundred kilometers above the earth and it only stayed in its orbit for about seventy days before it fell back into Earth's atmosphere and burned up during its descent. Even with those meager facts, the future impacts that little metal ball has had are beyond measure in many ways [footnoteRef:2]. [2: Doughty, Howard A. 2013. "Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige." College Quarterly 16, no. 3: 1. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 3, 2015).]

In the immediate aftermath of Sputnik, it became clear that this was the "moment" where Eisenhower was faced with a test. Basically, the U.S.S.R. had shown up the United States and had shown itself superior in a major way. However, it was also the starting point from which Eisenhower would eventually be able to create a lasting legacy. In public, Eisenhower was seemingly nonchalant and "unruffled" about what had happened with Sputnik. However, he was indeed keenly aware of the impact of the U.S.S.R. reaching space before the West and the United States in particular. As a direct reaction to the Sputnik success, Eisenhower formed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration along with a host of other agencies. The root goal and mission behind this reaction was to put the United States "back in the lead" when it came to dominating the land, sea air. This pertained, at the time, primarily to military might but there would be obvious different implications as time wore on. While the Sputnik endeavor did have some significance, it was not nearly as earth-shattering and game-changing as it seemed to many in the media and the public. However, it was certainly the start of something major for the U.S.S.

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R. And world and Eisenhower was acutely aware of this [footnoteRef:3]. [3: Doughty, Howard A. 2013. "Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige." College Quarterly 16, no. 3: 1. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 3, 2015).]

While Eisenhower was rather definitive about the Space Race, the input and reaction from President Kennedy was a little more mixed. Indeed, there was an apparent appearance of "contradictory" goals when it came to the Space Race and what it was meant to accomplished according to the Kennedy administration. While such contradictions in the public sector are usually attributed to bureaucracy-related morass, some argue that it was a clear reversal and change in course on the part of Kennedy himself. In retrospect, it would seem that the eventual decision by Kennedy to initiate the Space Race was obviously a bit different than what Eisenhower had planned. Indeed, rather than centering on military might and power, Kennedy demanded that the United States needed to achieve a "major space milestone" before the Soviet Union. He further argued that this needed to occur regardless of how much it cost and how much effort had to be expended. One implicit reason why this might have the case is that many political and sociological scholars were starting to mutter in hushed tones that perhaps the governmental structure of the U.S.S.R. was superior to that of the capitalism of the United States and other countries. As for Kennedy himself, he openly distrusted the overall intentions of the U.S.S.R. And why they were pursing entry and/or a presence in space. Presumably, Kennedy was under the impression that the U.S.S.R. held the same view as Eisenhower in that it was about domination and military might even if the press coverage and basking in glory was a nice side effect of beating the United States into space. Kennedy was true to his word on the "any cost" part of his spiel about how many resources to dedicate to the space program. As an example, on September 20th, 1963 he insisted that $7 billion USD be dedicated to the Apollo program. However, Kennedy's stated motives for all of these actions were indeed actively contradicting each other. At one point, he stated that the Apollo project was a "battle between freedom and tyranny," an apparent reference to the relationship between the United States and the U.S.S.R. However, at a different point he said that it was a matter of competition between nations and that space "offers no problems of sovereignty." For its part, Congress seemed to side with the national security concern and passed a resolution prohibiting any sort of joint mission with other countries. Initially, the language singled out Communist countries but was later clarified to include any other country [footnoteRef:4]. [4: Kay, W.D. 2003. "Problem Definitions and Policy Contradictions: John F. Kennedy and the "Space Race." Policy Studies Journal 31, no. 1: 53. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed July 3, 2015).]

The duality of political motives just mentioned above continued into the 1970's and 1980's with great fervor. NASA was and remained in a political tug-of-war between two major interests. One group asserted and demanded that NASA was about space exploration and scientific advancement while other people in the government sought out military and financial exploitation of space in a way that furthered United States interests and that kept the United States as one of (if not the most) powerful country in the world. This dichotomy of interests led to the obvious conclusion that the Space Shuttle mission scope and goals were absolutely influenced by politics. Indeed, there was the tumult of the development phase that occurred from 1972 to 1982. After that came the Challenger disaster in 1986. Of course, the development phase just mentioned was started by President Nixon. However, Nixon himself was reported to be less than excieted and engaged in NASA. One reason for that seemed to be that it was ostensibly a "Kennedy project" and thus it made Nixon less enthused. Even so, the start of the Space Shuttle program would obviously affect NASA and the United States space program for the next three decades in a very direct fashion. Many contend that Nixon greenlit the NASA spending that created the Space Shuttle program as part of a larger government spending initiative to stimulate the economy and keep unemployment low during reelection season. Indeed, that strategy seemed to work well for him and this would be a sterling example.....

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