Transcript And They’re Off!”

“And They’re Off!”
The Space Race and Arms Race of the
Cold War
Mr. Augugliaro/ Mr. Patten/ Mrs. Kempton
THE
SPACE
RACE
The 1950’s
• The Cold War tension between the United States and
the Soviet Union had worked its way into the
everyday life of Americans and Soviets.
October Sky
• On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union
successfully launches Sputnik, a transmitting
satellite into space.
• This was officially the start of the Space Race.
• December 1957- Soviets
put the first living animal,
Laika the dog, into space.
• In 1958, the United States
launches the Explorer 1
Satellite into space.
• That same year, 1958,
President Dwight D.
Eisenhower creates the
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
(NASA).
Ready…Set…Go!
Here they Come!
• 1959- Soviets launch Luna 2,
1st space probe to hit the
Moon.
• April 1961- Soviet
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
becomes the first man in
space and 1st to orbit earth.
• February 1962- John Glenn
becomes the first American
astronaut to orbit the earth.
The Final Stretch!
• 1962- President Kennedy
announces the main goal of
putting a man on the moon.
Apollo Program begins.
• July 16, 1969- Neil Armstrong,
Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins
Set off on Apollo 11 mission.
• July 20, 1969- Neil Armstrong
becomes the first man on the
moon.
• “one small step for man, one
giant leap for mankind.”
The
Race
The Atomic Age Begins
The world officially entered a new age of weapons on
July 16, 1945 with the creation of the Atomic Bomb.
The Soviet Union, soon after the Hiroshima bombing,
obtained the blue prints for the atomic bomb.
The Start of the Race
• On August 29th, 1949, the Soviet Union successfully
tests an atomic bomb. The Soviet Union now has
atomic power.
• In 1952, the United States test the “Super-bomb”.
The first Hydrogen (nuclear) bomb. The Soviets
follow in 1953 with their own H-Bomb.
• The United States claims it will follow a policy
“massive retaliation” or nuclear attack on the Soviet
Union if any major Soviet attack occurs.
The World Goes Nuclear
• In 1952, Britain became the 3rd nation to have
nuclear weapons.
• The British-American nuclear programs worked to
create more devastating bombs and easier ways of
delivering them. (Polaris Missile)
• In 1960 France achieved nuclear power.
• In 1964 the Communist, People’s Republic of China
also achieved nuclear power.
The Missile that Changed the World
• The build up of arms led to the creation of InterContinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM).
• The Space Race showed the power of ICBMs that
were capable of holding nuclear warheads. These
could be launched and reach any part of the world.
Arms Race Heats Up
• Both superpowers built large radar arrays to detect
incoming bombers and missiles.
• Anti-ballistic missiles to use against ICBMs were also
developed.
• Large underground bunkers were constructed to
save leaders, and citizens were told to build fallout
shelters and taught how to react to a nuclear attack.
These measures were called civil defense.
“MAD” World
• Each side had spent billions on their weapons and
could destroy each other multiple times over. 1st
and 2nd StrikeCapabilities.
• Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD, stopped
them from attacking one another.
Détente
• Because nuclear war meant the end of the world as
they knew it and the extreme economic strain the
arms race put on the superpowers, the two sides
began talking about disarmament.
• Détente refers to the period of time that the Soviets
and the United States reduced their spending on
weapons.
Détente
• October, 1963, Limited Test
Ban Treaty (LTBT) was signed
by the US, USSR, and the UK
to limit testing above
ground.
• November 1969- Strategic
Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I)
began and in 1972 SALT I
was signed.
• The Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty (ABM) limited each
nation to only 2 ABM sites.
Détente
• Even after SALT I the US and USSR added over
12,000 nuclear weapons to their already large
arsenals.
• Throughout the 1970’s both sides replaced their
older nuclear weapons with newer, more effective
weapons.
• In 1979 SALT II was signed. This treaty limited both
sides’ nuclear weapons and technology arsenal.
“Star Wars”
• During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the US
tried to restart the arms race.
• The US started the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI),
a space based anti-ballistic missile system called
“Star Wars”.
End of the Arms Race
Negotiations between President Reagan and Soviet
Premier Mikhail Gorbachev towards the end of the
1980’s, significantly reduced the spending on arms.