"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
With those words, spoken 40 years ago today, Neil Armstrong began a new era of
human existence. It was the first time a human had ever stepped foot on a
heavenly body not named Earth. The significance of this event was more than an
engineering feat of heroic proportions. It was the culmination of nearly a
decade of all-out rapid development to beat the U.S.'s primary adversary, the
U.S.S.R., to the Moon in what would be a nearly five decade long Cold War.
The Cold War Gets Hot
Few periods of the Cold War were hotter than the 1960s. President John F. Kennedy's decree of May 25,
1961, when he stated that, ""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," continued the escalation of international
hostilities and tensions, the likes of which resulted in both unparalled technological
advancements and epic failures for both nations.
Events such as the Vietnam War, the Bay
of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis set the tone for the decade.
Continuing fears about of the proliferation of communism, and a wrestling for
position as the premier superpower seemed to come down to which country could
first land a human on the Moon.
Must See TV
On July 20, 1969, nearly 600 million people around the world
watched as the U.S., outdone by a Soviet Union that had orbited the first
satellite, sent the first man and first woman into space, and became the
first to hit the Moon with a man-made object, beat the Soviets to the Moon's
surface with human beings. The U.S.S.R. had also orbited the first multi-man crews and made the
first space walk, so the United
States had pulled ahead of the race in the
home stretch. Ultimately, America's
Saturn V booster rocket proved to be more reliable than the Soviet behemoth,
the N-1 booster, a rocket whose massive failures were covered up for nearly
twenty-five years.
The Geopolitical Aftermath
Neil Armstrong's landing of the Eagle lunar module had a
direct affect on American space policy through the end of the Cold War. It also
reverberated repeatedly in American politics, creating programs such as Ronald
Regan's highly-heralded but ultimately costly and ineffective "Star Wars"
missile defense system.
What's Next?
In this multi-part series, come along and remember the most
famous feat in American aerospace history. We'll examine the construction of
the Apollo Spacecraft and Saturn V rocket series, study the three men who are
most noted for this renowned achievement, and take a look at some of the
technical difficulties that were overcome in traveling from the Earth to the
Moon.
Resources:
http://history.nasa.gov/ap16fj/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/Opinion_Editorial/Apollo_30_op-ed.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_spacecraft
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