Mt. Carmel High School

 

The Space Race - The 1960's

 

Scout

A Scout launch in 1965.

U.S./rocket July 1960 -- Scout Developed

Components from existing Army and Navy missiles were used to render this rocket operational as quickly as possible. The smallest launch vehicle in NASA's inventory, it was used primarily to send satellites and probes into space.

U.S./rocket August 1960 -- Corona Spy 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 "Discoverer" and was said to be a scientific research satellite. After several attempts, Discoverer 14 successfully carried a camera into orbit and returned with pictures taken more than 100 miles above Soviet territory.

 Vostok vehicle

A 3-D model of the Vostok vehicle.

U.S./rocket March 1961 -- Mannequin Test Flight

Ivan Ivanovich -- the Russian equivalent of John Doe -- was the name given a mannequin launched in a Vostok 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.

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

U.S./rocket April 1961 -- First Man In Space

A month before U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard's suborbital flight, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth once in his Vostok spacecraft and returned safely to the ground.

Shepard with Capsule

Alan Shepard, America's first astronaut, stands in front of the Freedom 7 spacecraft shortly after completing his 15 minute suborbital flight.

U.S./rocket May 5, 1961 -- Shepard's Suborbital Flight

The first American was sent briefly into space aboard Freedom 7. Soaring to an altitude of 116 miles, Alan Shepard spent 15 minutes in suborbital space but did not orbit the Earth. The flight demonstrated that a man could control a craft during weightlessness and high G-force stress.

Moon

U.S./rocket May 25, 1961 - Kennedy's Goal

Shortly after the Soviets sent the first man into space, President Kennedy wanted to know how the U.S. could better the Soviets. Vice President Lyndon Johnson spoke with top NASA officials, as well as 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 the Earth."

U.S./rocket August 1961 -- Full Day in Orbit

Gherman Titov, aboard Vostok 2, was the first man to spend a full day in orbit during tests designed to study the effect of weightlessness on cosmonauts.

John Glenn climbs into capsule

Astronaut John Glenn climbs into Friendship 7 during prelaunch checkout procedures.

U.S./rocket February 1962 -- Glenn Into Orbit

John Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut to circle the Earth when he spent five hours aboard the Friendship 7 capsule. Parts of the last two of three orbits had to be controlled manually after failure of the autopilot.

U.S./rocket April 1962 -- Zenit Spy Satellite

A converted Vostok spacecraft carrying a camera instead of a cosmonaut was successfully launched, and it returned with photos taken above the United States. The Soviets claimed the true mission of the craft was science-related and gave it the name "Kosmos," much like the Americans had disguised their own Corona spy satellite months earlier.

Missile silo

A 3-D rendering of an underground silo with missile inside.

U.S./rocket 1962 -- Minuteman Deployed

The United States deployed this silo-based ICMB 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 Minuteman later replaced the original.

U.S./rocket June 1963 -- Long-Duration Orbit

The first long-duration mission was Vostok 5, which spent five days in orbit.

U.S./rocket June 1963 -- First Woman in Space

Flying aboard Vostok 6, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

Aleksei Leonov

Aleksei Leonov

U.S./rocket March 1965 -- First Spacewalk

Secured by an umbilical cord attached to Voskhod 2's life support systems, Aleksei Leonov became the first person to leave a spacecraft in orbit. After spending 20 minutes in the vacuum of space, he nearly didn't 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.

Ed White

Astronaut Edward White listens in Mercury Control Center.

U.S./rocket June 1965 -- First U.S. Spacewalk

Gemini IV astronaut Edward White made the first U.S. spacewalk during a four-day mission.

Soyuz model

A model of the Soyuz craft.

U.S./rocket April 1967 -- Soyuz

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 100 cosmonauts on various missions to space.

Saturn V next to Shuttle

A full-scale Saturn V rocket sits on display to the right of a space shuttle.

U.S./rocket November 1967 - Saturn V Moon Rocket

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. 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 32 launches -- not one failed.

U.S./rocket September 1968 -- Moon Orbital

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 to successfully 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.

Apollo 7 Astronauts

Apollo 7 astronauts

U.S./rocket October 1968 - Apollo 7 Tests

Manned test flight of the Apollo command and service modules in Earth's orbit was 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 8 reentry

Apollo 8 reentry

U.S./rocket December 1968 - Apollo 8 Manned Moon Orbit

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 broadcast images of Earth back to the people inhabiting it.

U.S./rocket February 1969 -- N-1 Moon Rocket Test

A key component in the race to the moon for both sides 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. Its first launch attempt ended in failure. An engine fire caused the rocket to shut down and crash a minute after liftoff.

U.S./rocket July 1969 -- 2nd N-1 Failure

The second test of the N-1 rocket also ended in disaster. Seconds after liftoff the rocket fell onto the launch pad and exploded. Three weeks later, Americans landed the crew of Apollo 11 on the moon. Failure of the N-1 rocket ended the Soviet Union's chances of beating the Americans to the moon.

Aldrin steps down on the Moon

Neil Armstrong photographs Buzz Aldrin as he descends from the lunar lander. Earlier, Neil Armstrong descended for man's first walk on the Moon.

U.S./rocket July 1969 - First Man on the Moon

The race to the moon ended when Americans 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 46 pounds of soil and core samples and deployed scientific 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.