CICERO © 2008 1 Space Program U.S.A. vs. U.S.S.R..

CICERO © 2008

History Beyond The TextbookCICERO


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Space ProgramU.S.A. vs. U.S.S.R.

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Table of ContentsFirst U.S. V-2 Launch First German V-2 Launch Viking Rocket Launches First Soviet ICBM Sputnik

Sputnik 2 Vanguard Failure NASA Is EstablishedExplorer 1First U.S. ICBM

Luna 3 Scout Developed Corona Spy Satellite Ivan Ivanovich Yuri Gagarin

Shepard’s Suborbital Flight Kennedy’s Goal Minutemen DeployedGlenn into OrbitFull Day in Orbit

SoyuzFirst U.S. SpacewalkLong-Duration Orbit First Woman in Space First Spacewalk

Saturn V Moon Rocket Moon Orbital Apollo 7 Tests

The Space Program NowInternational Space StationMir Buran Shuttle Shuttle-Mir

Space Shuttle ColumbiaApollo-SoyuzFirst Man on the Moon First Space Station Skylab

N-1 Moon Rocket TestApollo 8 Manned Moon Orbit

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First U.S. V-2Launch

January 1946Wernher von Braun, technical director of Germany’s long-range missile program, surrendered to the U.S. Army and revealed the capabilities of the German rockets. Concentration camp workers, forced by the Nazis to help produce the V-2s, were questioned by the Allies and asked to aid in identifying the necessary parts for its construction.Captured missiles were taken to the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico, where von Braun oversaw their reassembly and testing. The first V-2s fired were German-built. Two months later, the United States tested its first American-made copy.

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First V-2Launch

1947

The German V-2 was also the basis for the Soviet Union’s missile program. A year after launching a missile built from German parts in 1947, the Soviet Union launched its own Russian-built model of the V-2 called the R-1. The Soviets continued to gradually build larger missiles capable of flying longer distances. The R-5, the last missile based on the V-2, had a range of 750 miles.

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Viking RocketLaunches1949–1957

The U.S. Navy built and launched fourteen Viking rockets designed to study the region of the upper atmosphere that affects long range-radio communications. This “sounding rocket” design improved the V-2’s in control and propulsion. The Viking was also tested as a potential ballistic missile.

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First Soviet ICBMAugust 1957

The successful testing of the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) proved that the Soviets could target the United States with a nuclear warhead or catapult a spacecraft high enough to orbit the Earth. Two months later, the R-7 hurled Sputnik into space. The R-7 Semyorka rocket

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SputnikOctober 1957

The world’s first artificial satellite was launched, demonstrating the technical abilities of the Soviet Union. This shiny basketball-sized sphere took Americans by surprise. Fearing attack from afar and distraught over being beaten by its Cold War rival, the United States jumped headfirst into the space race.

Sputnik 1 model

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Sputnik 2November 1957

Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on November 3, 1957, and the first to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. It was a four-meter tall cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of two meters. It contained several counterparts for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature control system for the cabin, and scientific instruments. A separate sealed cabin contained Laika. Sputnik 2

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Vanguard FailureDecember 6, 1957

The Army’s attempt to launch America’s first satellite into orbit failed in a launch-pad explosion. Two months after the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik, this failure further emphasized America’s lag behind the Soviet Union in the space race.

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First U.S. ICBMDecember 17, 1957

The SM-65 Atlas was a missile built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Originally designed as an ICBM in the late 1950s, Atlas was the foundation for a family of successful space launch vehicles now built by United Launch Alliance. The Atlas rocket family today is used as a launch platform for commercial and military satellites, and other space vehicles. SM-65 Atlas

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Explorer 1 into SpaceJanuary 1958

Designed by former V-2 German rocket engineer von Braun’s team, the Jupiter-C propelled America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, into space. The nose cone of the Jupiter-C became the first man-made object to survive a round trip into space and back. Unlike Sputnik, this object did not go into orbit. However, its blunt shape and protective coating proved that Americans had solved the re-entry problem and paved the way for sending humans into space.

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NASA Is Established October 1958

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation’s public space program. The pressure to beat that Soviets in the space race resulted in the creation of America’s space agency.

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Luna 3Around the Moon

1959

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 was the third spacecraft sent successfully to the moon and was an early triumph in the human exploration of outer space. Though it returned rather poor pictures by later standards, the historic, never-before-seen views of the moon’s far side caused excitement and interest when they were published around the world, and a tentative Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon was created after image processing improved the pictures.

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Scout DevelopedJuly 1960

The Scout family of rockets were launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The original Scout, which stood for Solid Controlled Orbital Test system) was designed in 1957 at the NASA Langley Center. Scouts were used from 1961 until 1994. Unlike other satellite launchers, all Scout stages were solid fueled. To enhance reliability the development team opted to use “off the shelf” hardware, originally produced for military programs.

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CoronaSpy Satellite

Fearing a surprise nuclear attack from the Soviet Union, President Eisenhower authorized a top-secret spy satellite called “Corona.” To disguise its purpose, it was given the name “Discover” and was said to be a scientific research satellite. After several attempts, Discover 14 successfully carried a camera into orbit and returned with pictures taken more than one hundred miles above Soviet territory.

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Ivan IvanovichMannequin Test Flight

Ivan Ivanovich — the Russian equivalent of John Doe — was the name given a mannequin launched in a Vostock spacecraft wearing a SK-1 pressure suit. After re-entering the atmosphere, Ivan was ejected from the capsule and parachuted to the ground near the Ural Mountains city of Izevsk. This sort of ejection-and-parachute system was used later by Vostok cosmonauts

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Yuri GagarinThe First Man In Space

A month before U.S. astronaut, Alan Shephard’s suborbital flight, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth once in his Vostok spacecraft and returned safely to the ground. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin became the first human to travel into space in Vostok 3KA-2 and return. His call sign in this flight was Kedr (Cedar).

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Shepard’s Suborbital FlightMay 5, 1961

The first American was sent briefly into space aboard Freedom 7. Soaring to an altitude of one hundred and sixteen miles, Alan Shepard spend fifteen minutes in suborbital space but did not orbit the Earth. The flight demonstrated that a man could control a craft during weightlessness and highG-force stress.

Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7

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Kennedy’s GoalMay 25, 1961

Shortly after the Soviets sent the first man into space, President John F. Kennedy wanted to know how the United States could better the Soviets. Vice President Lyndon Johnson spoke with top NASA officials, plus U.S. military and industrial leaders, about the nation’s chances of beating the Soviets to the moon. At that time, neither country had a rocket powerful enough for such a mission.In a bold declaration on May 25, 1961, Kennedy stated, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.”

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President Kennedy

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Full Day in OrbitAugust 1961

After graduating as an air force pilot, Gherman Titov was selected for cosmonaut training in 1960. From there, he was chosen to fly the Vostok 2 mission launched in August 6 the following year. The mission lasted for 25.3 hours and accomplished seventeen Earth orbits. His call sign in this flight was Eagle. He was 26 years old at the time of the mission, which made him the youngest person in space, a title he holds to this day.

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Glenn into OrbitFebruary 1962

John Glenn piloted the first American-manned orbital mission aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962, the “Mercury Atlas 6” mission. It lasted four hours, fifty-five minutes, and twenty-three seconds. During the mission there was concern that his heat shield had failed and that his craft would burn up on re-entry, but he made his splash down safely. Glenn was celebrated as a national hero, and received a ticker-tape parade reminiscent of aviator Charles Lindbergh after he flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927.

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Minutemen Deployed1962

The United States deployed this silo-based ICBM in fields throughout the Western and Midwestern United States. Each missile carried a single nuclear warhead and was capable of instant response. Improved versions of the Minutemen later replaced the original. Both the United States and the Soviet Union found the space program a politically popular way to develop missiles that could also be used to carry nuclear weapons.

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Long-Duration OrbitJune 1963

Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky was originally intended to stay in orbit for eight days, but the Vostok 5 mission details changed many times because of elevated levels of solar flare activity at the time. Eventually, he was ordered back after five days. This remains the record time for a solo manned flight in Earth orbit.

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First Woman in SpaceJune 1963

On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Originally it was intended that Tereshkova would launch in Vostok 5 while Valentina Ponomaryova would orbit the Earth in the Vostok 6. The Vostok 5 flight switched to a male cosmonaut, and Tereshkova took over the Vostok 6. She had a flawless take-off, but suffered from bouts with nausea. She orbited around the Earth forty-eight times, and spent almost three days in space.

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First SpacewalkMarch 1965

Secured by an umbilical cord attached to Voskhod 2’s life support system, Alexei Leonov became the first person to leave a spacecraft in orbit. After spending twenty minutes in the vacuum of space, he nearly did not make it back inside the craft. His spacesuit had expanded more than predicted. To re-enter the spacecraft, Leonov was forced to release some of the air from inside his suit.

Alexei Leonov performing the first-ever spacewalk.

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First U.S. SpacewalkJune 1965

As a pilot of the Gemini 4 space craft, Edward White became the first American to make a spacewalk. During the mission he lost a glove which is now a piece of space debris.

Edward White walking in space outside of Gemini 4.

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SoyuzApril 1967

The first Soyuz (Union) spacecraft carried a man into space, setting a precedent for scores of subsequent Soyuz flights. Several modifications were made to the original Soyuz design to refine its use as a transport vehicle, upgrade its electronic and navigation systems, and later adjust it for docking with the Mir space station. Since 1967, Soyuz spacecraft have flown more than one hundred cosmonauts on various missions to space.

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Saturn VMoon Rocket

November 1967

A key component in the race to the moon for both sides was the construction of a rocket powerful enough to reach the lunar surface. The Soviets built the N-1 rocket, while the American answer was the Saturn V. The first launch of the rocket in November 1967 led to successful testing of the compatibility between the launch vehicle and the spacecraft. It was tested twice before carrying a manned module. The Saturn V rocket saw a total of thirty-two launches — not one failed.

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Moon OrbitalSeptember 1968

Though never announcing the intent of sending a cosmonaut to the moon, the Soviet Union sent many unmanned spacecraft to orbit, land on and explore the lunar surface. Zond 5 became the first craft successfully to orbit the moon and return to Earth. Multiple Zond missions through 1970 were used to test the logistics for a manned mission to the moon.

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Apollo 7 Tests

Manned test flights of the Apollo command and a service module in Earth’s orbit were conducted. This was the first manned Apollo flight and the first U.S. manned spaceflight in nearly two years, following a January 1967 launch pad fire in the Apollo 1 spacecraft that killed astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. A Saturn IV rocket sent Apollo 7 into orbit. Apollo 7 mission patch

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Apollo 8 Manned Moon Orbit

December 1968

The first manned Saturn V sent Apollo 8 astronauts into orbit around the moon and set the stage for the first manned lunar landing. The crew carried along a camera, and for the first time, images of the Earth, were broadcast from space.

Apollo 8 Mission patch

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N-1 Moon Rocket Testand FailureFebruary 1969–July 1969

A key component in the race to the moon was the construction of a rocket powerful enough to send a manned spacecraft to the lunar surface. Americans built the Saturn V rocket; the Soviet answer was the N-1. The N-1’s first two launches ended in failure. An engine fire caused the first rocket to shut down and crash a minute after liftoff. During the second test, just after liftoff the rocket fell on the launch pad and exploded. Three weeks later, Americans landed the crew of the Apollo 11 on the moon. Failure of the N-1 rocket ended the Soviet Union’s chances of beating the United States to the moon.

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First Man on the MoonJuly 20, 1969 The race to the moon ended when America successfully landed men on the moon and returned them safely to Earth. The Apollo 11 lunar module set astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin onto the lunar surface, where they collected 467 pounds of soil experiments. Approximately two and a quarter hours later, the astronauts began returning to the Lander, where they rested before ascending back to the Apollo command module the next day.Six more missions to the lunar surface followed; all of them were successful except Apollo 13, which was aborted en route to the moon following an on-board fire.

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First Space StationApril 1971

Salyut, the world’s first space station, was launched aboard the Soviet Proton launch vehicle. During the next decade, six more Salyuts were launched. The goal of these missions was to perform scientific experiments and test equipment that would make space more habitable for the long-term. Of the twenty-one missions to the Salyuts, the longest stay was two hundred thirty-seven days aboard Salyut 7.

Salyut 1 Space Station

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SkylabMay 1973

After conquering the moon, Americans set their sights on creating a permanent human presence in space and building reusable space shuttles that could supply and support such existence. Designed as a temporary living space, Skylab housed three astronauts during each of three missions. Its purpose was to perform scientific experiments, including the study of weightlessness and its effects on humans over time, observation of the sun to study high-energy solar activity, and execution of experiments designed by students for a “Classroom in Space” program. The longest Skylab mission lasted nearly three months. Most of Skylab burned upon re-entry in the Earth’s atmosphere in 1979, five years after it was abandoned.

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Apollo–SoyuzJuly 1975

As part of a joint agreement between the United States and Soviet Union to participate in space, two manned spacecraft were launched to rendezvous in orbit: one from Kazakhstan, the other from Florida. Engineers from both countries cooperated in the development and production of the module that linked the two crafts together. For two days, crew members visited each other, ate meals together and assembled a plaque from the halves, one brought by each crew. The mission represented a brief thaw in the Cold War and was a preview of later joint operations in space.

Crew Photo of the Apollo-Soyuz Mission

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Space Shuttle ColumbiaApril 12–14, 1981

The space shuttle Columbia was the world’s first reflyable spacecraft to deliver and retrieve satellites and perform scientific research. Several space shuttle designs were proposed and rejected before NASA settled on the partially reusable shuttle in existence today. The manned orbiter and two solid-propellant booster rockets are reusable, while the large fuel tank is expendable. The craft launches like a rocket, maneuvers in space, then returns like an aircraft gliding onto a runway.Three shuttle orbiters are in service: Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor. Two others were lost. Challenger was destroyed and it seven crew members killed in an explosion minutes after takeoff in 1986.

In 2003, Columbia was destroyed re-entering the atmosphere about fifteen minutes before it was scheduled to land. One of its wings heated up and caught fire due to damage to insulation tiles that occurred during the takeoff. There were no survivors. It had flown twenty-eight missions.

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MirFebruary 1986

With name that means “peace,” this modular station was designed with a “base block” of living quarters and six docking ports for supply ships and additional modules. The station could be expanded, rearranged and upgraded without affecting the core base block. The base block was launched in 1986. Five more modules for scientific experiments and work space were launched in 1986. Five more modules for scientific experiments and work space were launched during the next decade. The record for longest-duration space flight was set by Valeri Polyakov, who spent four hundred thirty-nine days aboard Mir.

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Buran ShuttleNovember 1988

During the early days of U.S. space shuttle launches, the Soviets were testing their own reusable shuttle, Buran. The first and only orbital mission was unmanned and launched by the largest Soviet launch vehicle, Energia, in November 1988. The Buran program had its detractors. Many scientists and engineers felt that money and energy expended to build and maintain Buran shuttles could be better used within the existing space program. Shortly after the first launch, the program was canceled.

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Shuttle – MirJune 1995

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, NASA and Russian Space Agency officials signed agreements in 1993 and 1994 to plan and develop an international space station. As a step in that direction, a series of joint missions involving Mir and U.S. space shuttles were undertaken. U.S. shuttles docked with Mir from 1995 through 1998. Astronauts and cosmonauts worked together on experiments, and a number of U.S. astronauts spent many months living on Mir. Shuttle – Mir Mission Patch

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International SpaceStation

1998 to Present

A joint venture among 13 nations, this space station is being designed with larger living and working quarters, more electrical power and greater cooperation among nations than any of its predecessors. The parts of the station were carried into orbit by space shuttles, and finished in 2000. Six people are able to occupy the station at one time, and both the space shuttle and Soyuz are able to dock with the station.

International Space Station Mission

Patch

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The Space Program NowEarly on, much of the space program was primarily centered around the United States and its ongoing conflict with the Soviet Union (Cold War). The relationship between the United States’ space program compared with the Soviet Union’s space program was a series of races. For example, who would be the first to launch a man into orbit, or who would be the first to land on the moon. More recently, much of space exploration has become a collaborative effort between nations. With the establishment of the International Space Station, there are a number of countries that are currently involved in space exploration.

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