| The Space race I am referring to took place from | | | | The Challenge |
| the late 1940's until the 16th of July 1969. | | | | Of course there are many other possible milestones. |
| The V2 | | | | On May the 25th 1961, in a speech to a joint sitting |
| In the Second World War, Germany had a huge lead | | | | of congress, President John F Kennedy set the |
| in producing rockets. The V2 was a terror weapon, | | | | impossible sounding goal of landing a man on the |
| but looked at as a rocket; it was far in advance of | | | | Moon by the end of the decade. This also implied a |
| anything the allies had. At the end of the war, both | | | | challenge to the Russians to try to do it first. |
| the Americans and the Russians grabbed as many of | | | | This ushered in several years of feverish activity and |
| the scientists and technicians working on rockets as | | | | preparation. Although this was a race, there is |
| they could. They also took as much equipment as | | | | evidence that President Kennedy was interested in |
| possible. | | | | some joint ventures, and had approached The |
| These people and equipment were used for two | | | | Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev in 1961, and again in |
| purposes. The Americans and the Russians both tried | | | | 1963. The second approach might have resulted with |
| to develop rockets to use as weapons, but they also | | | | some major co-operation of the sort that only came |
| tried to get into space. The earliest space launches | | | | much later. The seeds of the destruction of the |
| were done using V2 rockets with varying levels of | | | | Soviet Union had already been planted in 1960 |
| modification. | | | | although it would endure for another 30 years. The |
| Of course, both the Americans and the Russians had | | | | President was murdered before the agreement could |
| early successes as well as many failures. The first | | | | be finalised, and history was changed. |
| animals deliberately sent into space were some | | | | Round the Moon |
| American fruit flies. This was surprisingly early, in | | | | The Russians achieved the first unmanned flight |
| 1947. Since the war only ended in 1946, America was | | | | round the Moon. This was not a true Lunar Orbit, but |
| moving quickly. | | | | a figure of eight flight path with the space craft |
| The Race Accelerates | | | | returning to the Earth. |
| The Space race hotted up in the late 1950's and early | | | | They also sent the first animals into deep space, with |
| 1960's. At this stage it looked as if Russia was | | | | a tortoise, some meal worms and wine flies. |
| leading, and they had some successes at this time. | | | | Triumph |
| There were several American rockets that failed | | | | However, the space race in that form ended with |
| spectacularly, often while still on the launch pad. I | | | | the successful landing on the Moon of Neil Armstrong |
| remember a joke current at that time to the effect | | | | and Edwin Aldrin on the Moon, and their safe return. |
| that President Eisenhower could hit a golf ball higher | | | | Their return was greeted with relief by many people. |
| than the American rockets were getting. | | | | I suspect that one group that heaved an enormous |
| There were a lot of space launches at around that | | | | sigh of relief was the group of Russian Cosmonauts |
| time, and we were expecting that either America or | | | | in training for the Russian attempt. If the Americans |
| Russia would launch the first man into space very | | | | had failed, the Russians would have tried. What Neil |
| soon. We were right. On April the 12th 1961, a few | | | | Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins did was |
| days after my tenth birthday, it was announced that | | | | very dangerous with the American technology of the |
| Russia had achieved this major milestone with the | | | | time. If the Russians had tried with their technology, |
| successful orbit of the Earth by Yuri Gagarin. | | | | it would have been close to suicidal. |