The American and Soviet space programs began amid Cold War tensions, where the goal was to "get there first" and demonstrate who had technological supremacy.
Host | Matthew S Williams
On ITSPmagazine 👉 https://itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/matthew-s-williams
______________________
This Episode’s Sponsors
Are you interested in sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?
👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/sponsor-the-itspmagazine-podcast-network
______________________
Episode Notes
The American and Soviet space programs began amid Cold War tensions, where the goal was to "get there first" and demonstrate who had technological supremacy. These efforts began with the launch of artificial satellites, followed quickly by sending crewed spacecraft to orbit. All in preparation for eventual missions to the Moon!
______________________
Resources
What Was the Space Race? - National Air and Space Museum: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/what-was-space-race
______________________
For more podcast Stories from Space with Matthew S Williams, visit: https://itspmagazine.com/stories-from-space-podcast
The Space Race: the American and Soviet Space Programs | Stories From Space Podcast With Matthew S Williams
Episode 86 - Space Race
[00:00:00] The authors acknowledge that this podcast was recorded on the
traditional unceded lands of the Lekwungen peoples. Hello and welcome back
to another episode of Stories from Space. I'm your host Matt Williams and
today, picking up where we left off in previous episodes that looked at the
Chinese space program and the Indian space program, I wanted to talk more
about the major space programs around the world and what they hope to
accomplish in the coming years and decades.
Originally, I'd hoped to do two episodes that would cover the history of NASA
and its plans for the future, as well as the history of the Soviet and Russian
space program, and what they hope to accomplish in the near future. However, I
realized that Telling the history of one is really quite impossible without
addressing the history of the other, so I decided to combine the two into a single
segment that looks at the Space Race.[00:01:00]
Now this will be a multi part episode, simply because the subject matter, all the
events, their significance, it's very hard to address all of that in a single 20 to 30
minute podcast, so buckle up and be ready for a few installments here. Now, the
roots of the space race and the development of both the American and Soviet
space program, well, there's a lot of developments that go back pretty far, that
predate the Cold War, in fact.
For example, during World War II, rocketry advanced considerably, as both the
Allies and Germans came up with applications for artillery. And this included
the Soviet Katyusha launcher, essentially a truck with all these rails on top that
fired off rockets. And the American military also had the T 34 Calliope, which
was a rocket launcher similar to what the Katyusha had.
And it was mounted on a [00:02:00] Sherman tank. And these gave the Red
Army and the Allied forces the advantage of saturation firepower, which was
admittedly not too accurate, but very frightening and very good at clearing
enemy positions and fortified locations. However, the most impressive
development of rocket technology was with the German Bergl Tungswaffe 2,
otherwise known as the B 2 rocket.
And the name itself translates in German to retaliatory weapons or reprisal
weapons. But to the Allies, they're typically called vengeance weapons. The V2
was the world's first guided ballistic missile. It had been developed by Germanrocket scientist Werner von Braun, who himself was inspired by the Hungarian
physicist and rocket pioneer, Hermann Oberth.
And Oberf, alongside such luminaries as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert
[00:03:00] H. Goddard, and Robert Esnault Helteri, were all regarded as the
forefathers of modern rocketry. And with the defeat of Nazi Germany, both the
Western Allies and Soviets were scrambling pretty hard trying to capture as
many of the German rocket scientists as possible.
And this was due to just how far Germany's wartime rocketry program had
advanced. And it was also due to mounting tensions between the Allies and the
Soviets, which gave way to the Cold War shortly after, which officially kicked
off in 1947 48. And so both sides recruited these scientists as part of their own
rocketry programs, the primary purpose of which was to develop rocket systems
to deliver nuclear warheads.
And as I've said repeatedly in previous podcasts, this is how all of the major
space programs of the world came to be. It began as part of a nuclear arms race.
At the same [00:04:00] time, both NASA and the Soviets and other space
programs that would emerge subsequently, they recognized the potential for
high altitude scientific research and space exploration.
And this included access to space for military purposes, deployment of spy
satellites and nuclear weapons in orbit. But there was also the major motivation
of prestige. In the atmosphere of the Cold War, which was about ideology as
much as weapons, the idea of getting there first and scoring a massive
propaganda victory was certainly appealing, but it was also seen as a way of
demonstrating who had the superior industrial and economic model.
And so this led to a parallel effort alongside the arms race, known as the space
race, and in the U. S. during the late 1940s and early 50s, the development of
aerospace and aeronautic technology was overseen by the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics, or NACAC. [00:05:00] NACA, which was NASA's
precursor. And during this time, their research primarily consisted of high
altitude flights with supersonic aircraft.
Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, their rocketry program was pursued under the
leadership of Sergei Korolev, who remained the chief designer of all Soviet
rockets until his death in 1966. And Korolev, along with the assistance of the
German rocket scientist Helmut Grotrup developed the Soviet's own version of
the V 2 rocket, which was known as the R 1.And this launch vehicle was first revealed in 1951. Like the V 2, it was a single
stage rocket that relied on an adaptation of the V 2 engine, so it burned ethanol
and liquid oxygen as propellant. However, Korolev quickly recognized the need
for ballistic missiles that had more engine capability than the R 1 could deliver.
And this led to the development of the R 7 Semyorka by [00:06:00] 1957. And
this was a two stage ballistic missile that had a range of over 8, 000 kilometers,
or 5, 000 miles. It also came with a more sophisticated thruster assembly, which
included a single core engine and four strap on boosters, all powered by liquid
oxygen and kerosene.
And the R 7 would remain the workhorse of the Soviet and, later, the Russian
space programs, since all Soviet rockets that followed, including the Soyuz
rocket, were derived from this initial design. Those rockets were still in use 50
years later, when Russia was deploying its own modules for the ISS, and it
helped the Soviets get an early lead in the space race.
And this occurred on October 4th, 1957, as the Soviets launched the first
artificial satellite to space, known as Sputnik 1. And the name, in Russian,
translates [00:07:00] to Fellow Traveler. For 22 days, Sputnik 1 orbited Earth
and transmitted a simple radio signal. And this is what it sounded like.
Eventually completed 144 orbits before burning up in Earth's atmosphere,
roughly three months after launch. And this was followed by a second Sputnik
launch on November 3rd, 1957, which carried the first animal sent to space.
And that was the famous dog named Laika. Tragically, Laika died in flight, but
became a national hero who was commemorated with statues and a
commemorative postage stamp.
And she is viewed as a national hero to this day. In the case, The launch of the
Sputnik program encouraged the United States to kick their efforts into high
gear. And this resulted in President Eisenhower [00:08:00] signing the National
Aeronautics and Space Act on July 28, 1958. This created NASA, which took
over from NACA's research, and was tasked with the development of not only
rockets, but a human space program.
And these efforts would be overseen by Werner von Braun, who had been
recruited to NASA under Operation Paperclip, along with several other key
German rocket scientists. At the time, Werner von Braun and several other
prominent German rocket scientists had been working on the development of
ballistic missiles.Similar to the Soviet program, it's all about creating launch vehicles that could
deliver nuclear warheads. However, NASA began to repurpose their designs
and their rockets for space. And this led to the development of the Mercury
Redstone launch vehicle, an adaptation of the Redstone ballistic missile, which
would launch Explorer 1, which was America's first artificial satellite, on
[00:09:00] February 1st, 1958.
And within a few years, it would be used to launch the first American astronauts
to space through the Mercury program. At around this time, the Soviets also
began taking their first steps towards sending crewed missions to space as part
of the Vostok program. These two programs, Mercury and Vostok, saw the
development of crew capable spacecraft and larger, more powerful rockets that
relied on liquid oxidizers and better propellants for more thrust.
For the Soviets, this consisted of the Vostok space capsule, which would launch
atop a modified R 7 rocket or the Vostok K. This rocket and spacecraft allowed
the Soviets to get another early lead, when on April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin became the first man to go to space as part of the Vostok 1 mission.
The flight lasted only an hour and 48 minutes, and Gagarin completed only a
single orbit. Nevertheless, [00:10:00] The achievement was incredibly
significant and was celebrated by people all over the world. Today, people
continue to commemorate Gagarin's accomplishment in what is known as Yuri's
Night, an international celebration held every April 12th to commemorate this
milestone in space exploration.
Gagarin's mission was followed by the flight of Valentina Tereshkova. Who
became the first woman to go to space aboard the Vostok 6 mission on June 16,
1963. Tereshkova spent 2 days, 22 hours, and 15 minutes in space and
completed 40 orbits. Tershkova also remains the only woman who has flown in
space as part of a solo mission.
And at 26 years of age, she was also the youngest. During the flight, Tershkova
also maintained the flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which would
later be used to identify aerosol layers in the atmosphere. The success of the
Soviet Vostok program led to NASA expediting Project [00:11:00] Mercury.
From May 5th, 1961 to May 15th, 1963, the Mercury 7 astronauts launched to
orbit using the Mercury Redstone Rocket, the more powerful Atlas Mercury,
and the Mercury Capsule.
This included Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra,
Deke Slayton, John Glenn, and Scott Carpenter. On May 5th, 1961, less than amonth after Gagarin launched, Alan Shepard became the first American to go to
space. This consisted of a suborbital spaceflight named Freedom 7, which lasted
only 15 minutes and 22 seconds.
The capsule then landed at sea, and Alan Shepard was retrieved by naval forces
aboard the USS Lake Champlain. On February 20th, 1962, NASA
accomplished its first orbital spaceflight with astronaut John Glenn flying the
Friendship 7 mission. During this flight, Glenn made three [00:12:00] full orbits
before re entering the atmosphere and had to fly parts of the final two orbits
manually due to a number of technical and structural issues with the spacecraft.
On May 15th, 1963, the sixth and final Mercury mission was flown by Gordon
Cooper. As part of the Faith 7 mission, He performed 22 orbits over the course
of 34 hours, before his spacecraft returned to Earth. In the end, both programs
were a success. Unfortunately, the Soviets had not only got there first, but their
flights had outperformed those of NASA.
For example, the Vostok 5 mission, by Valery Bykovsky, set a record for
spending 4 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes in space, and accomplished 82 orbits.
This remains the longest solo orbital flight on record. The Vostok 3 and 4
missions also accomplished the first simultaneous flight of two [00:13:00]
spacecraft.
Nevertheless, NASA demonstrated several advantages in terms of innovation
and sophistication, which would become apparent with subsequent programs.
For instance, while the Soviets relied on a modified R 7 and would continue to
rely on R 7 variants throughout the space race, Project Mercury involved two
launch vehicles.
This included the Mercury Redstone and more powerful Atlas Mercury rockets,
both of which were variants from ICBMs. Whereas the Mercury ICBM was a
single stage rocket, Atlas Mercury was a stage and a half vehicle, consisting of a
core stage and two external boosters. In addition, The Vostok spacecraft, while
simpler and easier to produce, had few amenities for its crew.
This included the fact that the reentry capsule was incapable of making a soft
landing. Instead, pilots had to eject from the capsule and parachute to the
surface by themselves, while [00:14:00] still at an altitude of 7 kilometers, or 4.
3 miles. Meanwhile, Project Mercury's ballistic capsule was capable of landing
itself using on board parachutes.The pilots would then make splashdown in the ocean and be retrieved by a
naval ship, a process that was much easier on their crews. A notable example
was Valentina Tereshkova's flight, in which she suffered a nasty bump to the
head as a result of a rush parachute landing, having demonstrated their
capabilities of sending crewed missions to space.
The next step for both NASA and the Soviet space programs was to develop the
capability for long term durations in space. This was essential to achieving the
next phase in the space race, which was sending crewed missions to the moon.
For NASA, this took the form of Project Gemini, inaugurated in 1961, with
missions flown from 1965 to 1966.
While the Soviets followed [00:15:00] up on Vostok with their Voskhod
program, which is Russian for ascent or dawn. For their Gemini program,
NASA developed a new two stage Titan II rocket. NASA A modified variant of
the Titan II ICBM that replaced the Atlas rocket and the Gemini spacecraft. An
enlarged version of the Mercury capsule capable of carrying a two person crew.
The spacecraft also came with several key modifications, including retro
rockets, and the relocation of the electrical and propulsion systems, as well as
the oxygen and water supply, to a detachable adapter module behind the main
reentry module. In addition, all the internal spacecraft systems were in modular
component form, which could be independently tested and replaced without
disturbing other components.
For the Voskhod program, the Soviet space program introduced the more
powerful two stage Voskhod rocket. This was also derived from the R 7
[00:16:00] booster. But was based largely on the previous Molniya ICBM,
which possessed a more powerful upper stage compared to other variants of the
R 7 booster. The Voskhod spacecraft was also a variant of the Vostok
spacecraft, with several key modifications.
This included the removal of the ejection seat and the inclusion of a parachute
system, which meant the pilots no longer needed to bail out during re entry. It
also featured a backup solid fuel retro rocket atop the descent module, while the
pilot seat was replaced with a couch that could accommodate two to three
cosmonauts.
The inflight controls didn't change, however, which meant the crew had to crane
their necks at 90 degrees to see the instruments. Later versions of the Voskhod
spacecraft would include an inflatable exterior airlock added to the descentmodule, as well as solid fueled braking rockets that would ensure a softer
landing.
However, the Boscod spacecraft had no launch abort [00:17:00] system, so that
the crew could not escape in the event of a malfunction. However, being
relatively lightweight, the Boscod spacecraft could also be launched into a much
higher orbit. Again, the Soviets managed to take an early lead. But their first
mission launching on October 12th, 1964, several months ahead of the first
crewed Gemini flight, which took place in March of 1965.
However, only two flights were flown as part of the program between 1964 and
65. Voskhod 1 and 2 missions. Nevertheless, the Soviets did manage to achieve
some milestones with this program. The first took place on the Voskhod 1
flight, which was the very first multi person spaceflight ever conducted. This
mission saw a three person crew, including Vladimir Kamarov, Konstantin
Fyutistov, and Boris Yegorov, spending one day, 17 minutes, and 3 seconds in
space, and completing 16 [00:18:00] orbits.
The Voskhod 2 flight Which happened on March 19th, 1964, saw the first
Extravehicular Activity, EVA, or spacewalk accomplished by cosmonauts Pavel
Belyaev and Alexey Leonov. While NASA's crewed Gemini flights occurred
roughly a year later, program's accomplishments vastly exceeded those of the
Voskhod program.
Between 1965 and 66, this program would send a total of 16 astronauts to low
Earth orbit as part of the Gemini 3 to 12 missions. In addition, multiple firsts
were accomplished by the Gemini program. The Gemini 3 flight, piloted by
Virgil Gus Grissom and John W. Young, was the first mission where a crewed
spacecraft used its thrusters to change its orbit.
Gemini 4, which launched on June 3, 1965, saw James A. McDivitt and Edward
H. White II spend 4 days, 1 hour, [00:19:00] 56 minutes, and 12 seconds in
space, while accomplishing 66 orbits. This mission also saw Ed White become
the first American to make an EVA. The Gemini 6 mission, which launched on
December 15, 1965, with Walter Shearer and Thomas Stafford as astronauts,
witnessed the first spacecraft rendezvous between the Gemini 6A spacecraft and
the Gemini 7 spacecraft.
The Gemini 8 spacecraft, piloted by Neil Armstrong and David Scott, launched
on March 17, 1966, and achieved the first space docking with an uncrewed
vehicle, known as the Agena Target Vehicle. As if that wasn't enough, the
Gemini 10 mission, which launched on July 18, 1966 and was piloted by JohnYoung and Michael Collins, saw Collins become the first astronaut to meet
another spacecraft in orbit during his second EVA.
Collins was also the first [00:20:00] astronaut to conduct two EVAs in a single
mission. Next, the Gemini 11 mission, which launched on September 12, 1966,
piloted by Charles Pete Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr. Saw the
astronauts conducting the first direct ascent rendezvous with an Agena Target
Vehicle, meaning they accomplished this on their first orbit.
They also set a crewed orbital altitude record of 1, 369 kilometers, or 850 miles,
above Earth. Last there was the Gemini 12 mission. which took off on
November 11, 1966, which was piloted by James A. Lovell Jr. and Edwin Buzz
Aldrin. During the flight, these astronauts proved that extended periods of work
in EVA could be done safely thanks to the newly implemented footholds,
handholds, and scheduled rest periods NASA developed.
These missions helped NASA master spacewalking, [00:21:00] spacecraft
rendezvous, dockings, and long duration spaceflight. And demonstrated that
missions to space could endure for periods of up to 14 days. This was vital,
seeing as how it would take 8 days for a spacecraft to make a lunar round trip.
What's more, it allowed NASA to catch up and overcome the Soviet Union in
terms of the space race.
Which, as I mentioned, was due to greater levels of innovation and engineering
on behalf of NASA. Which mirrored developments and the competition taking
place in other aspects of the Cold War. Basically, the Vostok program was a
continuation of Vostok, using much the same rockets and much the same
spacecraft, but with modifications.
And while NASA also updated elements of Project Mercury for Gemini, They
continue to test and rely on more sophisticated, more [00:22:00] powerful
rocket boosters, rather than simply designing variants of their original launch
vehicle, the Mercury Redstone. In addition, the spacecraft modifications that
they implemented for Gemini were really quite thorough, and would go a long
way towards informing the Apollo spacecraft.
What's more, NASA had been working towards the creation of the Saturn V, the
three stage rocket that would send all the Apollo missions to the moon. The
Soviets did not commence their efforts to realize a lunar rocket, the N1, until
1965, and these efforts would suffer considerably due to Korolev's death in
1966.The stage was now set for the Apollo program, and whereas NASA began this
program in earnest in 1961, the Soviets officially ceded the race, but
nevertheless began preparations in earnest around the same time. What followed
would not only [00:23:00] determine who the victor in the space race would be,
but would forever alter the course of history.
It would also go on to inform and inspire renewed attempts to reach the moon
with Project Artemis, roughly 50 years later. All of that and more in Part 2 of
this segment on the Space Race. Thank you for listening. I'm Matt Williams.
And this has been Stories from Space.