Vocabulary

 

catch	compete	space (2)
react	explore	rendezvous
feat	drive (2)	accomplish
launch	respect	center-stage (2)
orbit	satellite	each other
fund	massive	follow-up
vow	respond	spacecraft
rival	capsule	carry/carried
probe	land (2)	propaganda
flight	last (2)	cosmonaut
sub-	man (2)	chimpanzee
leap	mission	astronaut
lunar	catch-up	steady/steadier
giant	engage	independent
pace	goal (2)	characterize
fade	intense	cooperation
pursue	artificial	inter-planet
detail	headway	attendance
melt

 
 
 
 

 
 

The Space Race

Since the dawn of humanity, people have dreamed of traveling into the sky and beyond. But it was only in the modern era that this could become a reality.

From the late 1950’s to the early 1970’s, the Soviet Union and the United States engaged in a “Space Race”. Both countries competed with each other in space exploration, driving them to great feats of accomplishment (Frequently, however, politics and propaganda took center-stage, over science and technology.)
 

Sputnik

The Space Age officially began on 4 October, 1957 when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth.

The world reacted with surprise . . . awe . . . respect . . . and fear. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered massive funding for follow-up projects while US leaders vowed to catch up.

More Soviet successes followed. A month after Sputnik, another satellite, Sputnik 2, carried the first cosmonaut, a dog named Laika, into space.
 

Explorer

The United States responded in 1958 by launching the satellite Explorer 1, followed a few months later by Vanguard 1.

In 1959, a Soviet probe, Luna 1, passed close to the moon, while Luna 2 became the first to land on it.
 

Yuri Gagarin

The Soviet Union reached another milestone in 1961 when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the earth in the spaceship Vostok I. The flight lasted 108 minutes and the ship returned safely.

Two years later, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in Vostok IV.
 

The First US Astronaut

Following the Gagarin mission, the US sent a chimpanzee named Ham on an 18-minute flight in a capsule in 1961, and its first manned space flight later that year with astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr. He flew a 15-minute suborbital mission. In 1962, John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit the earth.

The first manned voyage to the moon began in 1968 when the US launched the Apollo 8 spacecraft. It orbited the moon 10 times and returned safely to the earth.
 

“That’s one small step for a man…”

Then finally, on 20 July, 1969, US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo 11 lunar module on the moon. When Armstrong set foot on the surface, he said his famous words, “That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind”.
 

End of the Space Race

US astronauts made five more moon landings before the Apollo lunar program ended in 1972. The Space Race itself had faded by the end of the 1970’s when the former rivals began to pursue independent goals.

Today, space programs are characterized by a steadier pace and more international cooperation — though more recently, China and India have sent spacecrafts onto the moon.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

The British Interplanetary Society

In the 1940’s, the British Interplanetary Society published detailed plans for manned lunar landing vehicles, space suits, and orbital rendezvous.

However, the UK, which had been a great scientific and industrial power before World War II, made little headway.

Most of the top British scientists and engineers had gone to the United States. Those who remained had very little money and support to develop a British space program.
 

A Party in New York City

In 1969 New York City hosted a huge gala to celebrate the first landing on the moon. A British politician in attendance decided to make a speech.

He proclaimed, “The Russians were the first to go into space. The Americans were the first to land on the Moon. However we, the British, will be the first to go to the SUN! Yes, we are planning to land a man on the Sun!
 

Here we Come

No one make a sound. A Russian engineer finally broke the silence by asking, “What will you do about the intense heat and light? Have you developed new materials that won’t be burned or melted by the sun?” An American scientist added, “And what about the sun’s solar radiation? How will you protect the astronauts against it?”

The British politician laughed. “Ha ha ha. Do you think the British are stupid? We’ll go at night!”
 

 

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Questions

 
Mercury. Was the “Space Race” about super-fast, hypersonic rockets in a race to see who could be the first to reach the moon?

Venus. In the Space Race, the Soviet Union and United States were driven (motivated) primarily by prizes and financial gains (profits). What do you think?

Earth. What was Sputnik? Sputnik was . . . . . .

Mars. How did Americans react? Did they clap, cheer, and celebrate?

Asteroid Belt. Who was Laika (and Strelka)?

Jupiter. The Soviet Union landed the first spacecraft on the moon. Is this right or wrong?

Saturn. Who were Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova?

Uranus. Did the US send its first spaceship directly to the moon; or did it work in stages?

Neptune. Neil Armstrong was a cycling champion. Is this right or wrong? What did he say, what were his famous words?

Pluto. What are today’s space programs like? Describe today’s space programs.
 
 
 
Planet, Moon, Satellite. Have there been astronauts or cosmonauts from your country?

Orbit. The landing on the moon was the greatest single achievement of mankind. Do you agree?

Sun, Stars. Was it worth the billions of dollars in investment?

Solar System. Do you think governments should continue investing in space programs?

Milky Way, Galaxy. I would like to be an astronaut or cosmonaut. Yes or no? Would you like to be a space tourist?

Universe, Cosmos. What do you think will happen in the future?