US+Race+to+the+Moon

=**__U.S. Race to Space__**= ====The Cold War created very high tensions between the Communist Soviet Union and the Democratic, Capitalistic, United States. The two Super Nations were competing for military superiority during the Cold War. The United States were disappointed when their containment plan to try and prevent the spread of communism failed. When the Soviet Union launched //Sputnik// into orbit the American's were very terrified. The Americans did not know what the satellite was doing, if it was watching them; or not. //Sputnik// instilled fear in America's eyes and now the two Super Powers were competing on who could get to the moon first.====

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The United States first attempt to launch a satellite into orbit was lead by the U.S. Navy. The first //Vanguard// rocket was launched on December 6th 1957. A few feet from the ground //Vanguard's// fuel tank exploded and its first lift off failed. The Navy attempted another //Vanguard// launch in February 1958 and also failed. On March 17 1958 //Vanguard 1// lifted off successful. It provided the U.S. with information unlike the Soviet's //Sputnik.// After //Vanguard// 1 four more attempts to reach orbit had failed. The world's first U.S. weather satellite was launched on Feb. 17 1959 and had operated in orbit for 18 days before failing. Two more launch attempts failed and the //Vanguard 3// was successfully launched into orbit during September 1959.=====

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The United States hoped for better results with the //Explorer.// January 31st 1958 the //Explorer// was launched for the first time. The //Explorer 1// went higher than either //Sputnik// Satellite and could complete an orbit in 115 minuets and finally stopped transmitting data in Feb. 1959. Fifty-eight thousand orbits later in March of 1970 it burned up in Earth's atmosphere. The missions investigated ultraviolet radiation, X Rays of the Solar System and gamma radiation. Missions in the //Explorer// Program were scheduled until 2009.=====

__NASA__
====Since nobody in the government could decided which agency should be responsible for the program they created a new one. The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 was signed by President Eisenhower which in turn became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration more commonly known as NASA. It was dedicated to the development of new technology and peaceful exploration as well to explore the commercial uses of Space.====

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President John F. Kennedy decides the U.S. will be the first nation to put a man on the moon and had set the goal by the end of the decade. Although the timing was not right President Kennedy set an almost impossible goal to reach with hope to win. Americans reacted immediately and encouraged young students to become astronauts and travel in space. He also gave a speech about the matter at Rice Universitymedia type="youtube" key="_RaRC6YuYCQ" width="425" height="350".=====

**__Project Mercury__**
====Project //Mercury// had very specific goals for its Mercury Thirteen women. The Mercury project has goals such as orbiting a manned spacecraft around Earth, to recover both the man and spacecraft safely and to investigate mans ability to function in space. the initial stages of project //Mercury// included seven suborbital flights. Two of the seven flights failed. In January 1961 //Mercury// was ready to carry man into space.==== ====//Mercury's// first manned flight took place on May 5 1961. //Freedom 7// proved that an astronaut could work comfortably and survive in space. Another Suborbital flight was launched on July 24, 1961 //Liberty Bell 7,// which had some minor improvements when compared to //Freedom 7.// On Feb. 20 1962 //Friendship 7// was launched and safely brought an astronaut to space and back safely meeting //Mercury// objectives. During May of 1962 another flight took place, //Aurora 7// was more strictly a mission of science where they noted how water reacted, the perspective of stars and photographing Earth. //Stigma 7,// launched off. It gave the first broadcast from a U.S. spacecraft and also set the record for highest flight in the //Mercury// project. The last in the series of shuttles in project //Mercury// was conducted on May 15 1963. The //Faith 7// shuttle was so successful that they had cancelled the last planned //Mercury// flight and proceeded to the next mission.====



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Project //Gemini// had very clear motives for their space missions also. They wanted to put man and equipment up spaceflight in 2 weeks duration. Also to successfully dock a satellite with orbiting vehicles and maneuver the docked combination while using a targeted vehicle's propulsion system and to effect methods of entering the Earth's atmosphere and land at a planned place. The //Gemini// space shuttle was almost 2 times the size of the //Mercury// shuttle. The Project //Gemini's// first piloted flight was on March 23 1965. The goal of this mission was to test the new maneuverable spacecraft in space, //Gemini 3//. The new spacecraft was a success.=====

The 12 //Gemini// shuttles discovered many new technologies. The first long duration flight //Gemini 4// shows the astronauts that moving quickly towards their target only made it further away. Next //Gemini 5// had an eight day flight and showed that astronauts could endure weightlessness for enough time to fly to the moon and then back. The original launch of //Gemini 6// was cancelled and moved until December 12 1965. The //Gemini 7// was launched on December 4th before //Gemini 6.// The longest //Gemini// flight was //Gemini 7.// It stayed in space for 14 days and successfully satisfied the first //Gemini// mission objective. //Gemini 8// is where they conducted their first docking experiment. It failed horribly and made the mission come to a stop eight hours later, landing in the Pacific Ocean. The //Gemini 9// mission had problems even before it launched. a computer failure postpone the launching. Finally June 3rd 1966 //Gemini 9// lifted off. The //Gemini 10// operation went great, it finally docked to another vehicle in space. //Gemini 10// had a smooth landing. //Gemini 11// had similar objectives as //Gemini 10// except that they wanted the shuttle to dock right after entering orbit. This 3 day mission ended with the first automatic computer-controlled reentry. The final mission of project //Gemini// took off on November 11 1966. After 4 days in flight //Gemini 12// crashed down close to the recovery area.

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NASA proposes to develop a 3 manned spacecraft. The spacecraft had three sections. The Command Module which was the astronauts control center, and storage place. Also this is the only place that could withstand the heat of reentry. The Service Module which contained their oxygen supply and propulsion system. Lastly the Lunar Module, which lands on the suraface of the moon and carries astronauts to the moons surface.=====

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The first flight is the //ApolloSaturn-201// a suborbital flight in Feb. 1966. A second test flight took place in June of 1966 the //AS-203.// The third test was the //AS-202// in August 1966. The last test was done on //AS-204// which was to test the command module's functionality in space. Finally the first manned Apollo space flight took place on January 27 1967. It was a disaster the temperature inside the capsule the astronauts were in was too hot and they could not get out. Astronauts Virgil 'Gus" Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Edward H. White die in the tragic accident. It was caused due to faulty wiring and could have easily been prevented. Due to the tragic accident the next 3 Apollo missions were to be unmanned.===== media type="youtube" key="HCt1BwWE2gA" width="425" height="350"

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//Apollo 7// was ready for liftoff October 11 1968. This flights purpose was to show that the spacecraft could withstand space conditions for ten days in continuous orbit. On December 21 1968 Apollo //8// is launched. This is the first spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit and enter a Lunar orbit. The mission ended perfectly and this gave the //Apollo// Program a boost because now they could navigate to and from the moon. //Apollo 9// is successful and all three Apollo vehicles docked, undocked and re-docked successfully in lunar orbit. May 18 1969 the first manned lunar landing took place in the //Apollo 10// spacecraft. They land in the moons sea of tranquility; it was another sucessful mission.=====

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The //Apollo 11// flight finally put man on the moon July 16 1969. The Command modules name was the //Columbia// and the lunar modules name was the Eagle. The planets population watched the moment in History when Neil Armstrong announced "Houstin, The //Eagle// has landed." They left scientific equipment and an American Flag on the moons surface. //Apollo 12// has the second lunar landing in which their mission was to find life on the moon. They had found bacteria that had withstood extreme measures however it was believed that it originally had came from Earth. Another planned lunar landing was //Apollo 13.// Fifty-six hours into the mission fuel tanks exploded which caused the rest of the fuel tanks to explode so the lunar landing is aborted. This delayed he the NASA //Apollo Program// a year.=====

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On January 31 1970 //Apollo 14// is launched and completes another lunar landing. They collected more rocks from the surface and set up communication equipment. They walked 2.2 miles of the moons surface.=====

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One of the first expedition lunar landings missions was on July 26 1971 //Apollo 15// landed a car-like rover onto the moon and advanced 17 miles. They spent almost 62 hours on the moon. //Apollo 16// was launched on April 16 1972 and a malfunction in the CSM propulsion system caused the //Apollo 16// Lunar landing to be cancelled. The first nighttime launch occurred on December 7 1972 with //Apollo 17.// Astronauts exceeded the longest exertion time on the moon and it was the longest lunar stay by an Apollo crew.=====

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The main goal of the shuttle program was to produce reusable vehicles to make the launch routines cheaper. President Nixon had authorized the deployment of reusable spacecrafts. The only change is that the fuel tank is not reused, but this is the only part on the whole shuttle.=====

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The first shuttle was the //Columbia.// It was a test to see if the shuttle could withstand the pressure of space. In July 1982 the //Challenger// was added and lastly the //Discovery// in 1983, the //Atlantis// in 1985 and the //Endeavour// in 1991. Disaster struck the program in January of1986 and killed all seven of the crew members. It brought the program to a stop for almost two years.===== September 28 1988 the regular flights resumed. This caused the drop of plans for the military missions and commercial satellites to be launched to space.

In 1997 the //Discovery// returned to replace warn out scientific instruments. The //Columbia// did the same in 2002. The //Columbia// broke apart during reentry and all seven crew member dies again. Procedures were modified and space flights were to resume in 2005. //The Discovery// would come back and forth and deliver supplies and space cargo the the International Space Program. Its mission was to test safety procedures.

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The space race between the U.S and the Soviet Union was a direct effect of the Cold War. Tensions between The Communists and Nationalists were rising against each other to see who had more military superiority. Each Super Power struggling to beat the other and put man on the moon first. NASA planned many missions to test shuttles before they could put man on the moon. NASA gained so much information from their missions that they finally succeeded to put man on the moon on July 18 1969. Although some shuttle launches were not successful and took the lives of some 15 astronauts, each even directly affected the outcome in America's success. The United Sates set the standard for other country's to beat during the space race with the Soviet Union. This was a major military advanced for the U.S. and instilled fear in other country's eyes with the U.S not only being active around the world but now they have the 'space advantage' over other country's.=====

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The significance of the U.S. space race was that it put the U.S. on the top and proved to the world that they were the better of the two Super Powers. By putting man on the moon first this gave the United States an advantage over the Soviets because now they were not even operating on Earth. It instilled fear in enemies eyes and made them fear what the U.S. was actually doing in space. The Space Race influenced a greater exploration of space and scientists were encouraged to look for more in space.=====

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Eventually the program lead to the exploration of other planets. The //Magellan// spacecraft was sent to explore Venus. The //Galileo// spacecraft was sent to explore planet Jupiter and lastly the //Ulysses// spacecraft was sent to study the sun. These missions made it possible for Skylab's to be developed in order to further space studies and exploration.=====

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