History of the U.S. Space Program

Paper Summary:

This paper focuses on the history of the U.S. Space Program, the role of the people and agencies that were responsible for starting and developing the program, how the rivalry with the Soviets affected the program, the significance and benefits, if any, of space exploration, the future of the space program, and its usefulness.

From the Paper:

"When the Soviets successfully launched Sputnik I, the first ever artificial satellite, in orbit on October 4, 1957, the event took the Americans and the entire western world by surprise. Sputnik I was just a 2-foot sphere with nothing more than two tiny radio transmitters on it, but the symbolic significance of the event?the implication that Communist Russia had taken a significant technological lead over the United States was a massive blow to the American nation's pride. It signaled the start of the Cold War space-race between the two major super powers of the time and developed into a race for putting the first man on the moon that culminated in the historic "giant leap for mankind" on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon."

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