We all learned in history class about the Space Race during the Cold War, but how did it all begin?
It seems crazy to think that we’ve only been sending stuff into space since 1957, but those guys and gals who are smart enough to do rocket science are clearly good at working quickly.
But it wasn’t actually NASA who landed the first blow in the space race, it was in fact the USSR Academy of Sciences, who launched Sputnik up into low orbit around the earth on October 4th 1957 from a launchpad in what is now Kazakhstan. We highly doubt Borat had much to do with this project though.
The Americans, who had no idea what was going on, were left looking up in awe as they were caught completely by surprise by the Russian space program.
A small sphere with a few antennas attached, it wasn’t up to much, just broadcasting some radio signals for about three weeks until its battery died out. It burned up on re-entry, leaving little trace, but it certainly left its mark on history, triggering the infamous Space Race between the US and the USSR.
In fact, it was this event that led to the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, bringing the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, which is how NASA was created.
This is how the space race really kicked off, and if you’re looking at this on your phone then you can thank those scientists who’ve been launching satellites for all their research and development in making that technology possible. And TV. And Wifi. A great bunch of lads by all accounts…
To find out more about the Lynx Space Academy and for your chance to be the first Irishman in space click here
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