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{{Dablink|For a list of key events, see [[Timeline of space exploration]]. For other uses, see [[Space Race (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2008}}

[[Image:Lunokhod 1.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Lunokhod 1]] lunar [[Rover (space exploration)|rover]] built by the [[Soviet Union]]. Lunokhod was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world.]]

The '''Space Race''' was a competition of space exploration between the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]], which lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975. It involved the efforts to explore [[outer space]] with [[artificial satellite]]s, to [[human spaceflight|send humans into space]], and to land them on the [[Moon]].

The Space Race effectively began after the Soviet launch of ''[[Sputnik 1]]'' on [[4 October]] [[1957]]. The term originated as an analogy to the [[Nuclear arms race|arms race]]. The Space Race became an important part of the cultural, technological, and ideological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the [[Cold War]]. Space technology became a particularly important arena in this conflict, because of both its potential military applications and the morale-boosting social benefits.

==Artificial satellites==
===''Sputnik''===
[[Image:Sputnik1satellite.jpg|thumb|''[[Sputnik 1]]'' was the size of a large beach ball, weighed more than 80 [[kilogram|kg]] and orbited the [[Earth]] for more than two months.]]

On [[4 October]] [[1957]], the Soviet Union successfully launched ''[[Sputnik 1]]'', the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, thus beginning the Space Race and making the USSR the first ''space power''.<ref>
{{cite web | url = http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ | title = Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age | publisher = NASA}}</ref>
Because of its military and economic implications, ''Sputnik'' caused fear and stirred political debate in the United States, spurring [[The Eisenhower Administration|the Eisenhower administration]] to enact several initiatives, including the formation of [[NASA]]. At the same time, the ''Sputnik'' launch was seen in the Soviet Union as an important sign of scientific and engineering capabilities of the nation.

In the Soviet Union, a country recovering from a devastating war, the launch of ''Sputnik'' and the following program of space exploration were met with great interest from the public.<ref name="economist1957">[http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9928194 Both Sides of the “Moon”], an October 12, 1957 [[editorial|leader]] from ''[[The Economist]]''</ref> It was also important and encouraging{{Specify|date=October 2007}} for Soviet citizens to see the proof of technical prowess in the new era.

Before ''Sputnik'', the average American assumed that the United States had superiority in all fields of technology.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In response to ''Sputnik'', the United States launched a huge effort to regain technological supremacy, including revamping the school curriculum. Within less than a year, the [[United States Congress]] passed the [[National Defense Education Act]], the most far-reaching federally-sponsored education initiative in the nation's history.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} The bill authorized expenditures of more than $1 billion for a wide range of reforms including new school construction, fellowships and loans to encourage promising students to seek higher education, new efforts in vocational education to meet critical manpower shortages in the defense industry, and a host of other programs.<ref name='SPUTNIK REVISITED'>
{{cite journal|title=Sputnik Revisited: Historical Perspectives on Science Reform|journal=symposium hosted by the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education|date=|first=Peter |last=Dow|coauthors=|volume=|issue=|pages=|id= |url=http://www.nas.edu/sputnik/dow1.htm|format=|accessdate=2007-03-20}}</ref> This reaction is now known as the [[Sputnik crisis]].

As with the Soviet public, the American public followed the succession of launches, and building [[model rocket|replicas of rockets]] became a popular hobby.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

[[Image:Van Allen Explorer 1.jpg|thumb|[[Explorer 1]] model at NASA news conference.]]
Nearly four months after the launch of ''Sputnik 1'', the United States launched its first satellite, ''[[Explorer 1]]'', and USA was the second ''space power''. In the meantime, several embarrassing launch failures had occurred at [[Cape Canaveral]].

The first satellites were already used for scientific purposes. ''Sputnik'' helped to determine the density of the upper atmosphere, and ''Explorer 1'' flight data led to the discovery of the [[Van Allen radiation belt]] by [[James Van Allen]].

===Satellite communications===
The first [[communications satellite]], the American [[Project SCORE]], launched on [[18 December]] [[1958]],and relayed a Christmas message from President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to the world. Other notable examples of satellite communication during (or spawned by) the Space Race include:
:1960: ''[[Echo satellite|Echo 1A]]'': first passive communications satellite
:1962: ''[[Telstar]]'': the first "active" communications satellite (experimental transoceanic)
:1963: ''[[Syncom|Syncom 2]]'': the first geosynchronous communications satellite ([[Clarke orbit]])
:1972: ''[[Anik 1]]'': first domestic communications satellite ([[Canada]])
:1974: [[Westar]]: first U.S. domestic communications satellite
:1976: [[Marisat]]: first mobile communications satellite

The United States launched the first [[geosynchronous orbit|geosynchronous]] satellite, ''[[Syncom]]-2'', on [[26 July]] [[1963]]. The success of this class of satellite meant that a simple satellite dish no longer needed to track the orbit of the satellite because that orbit remained [[geostationary orbit|geostationary]]. Henceforth ordinary citizens could use satellite-mediated communications transmissions for television broadcasts, after a one-time setup.

==Living creatures in space==
===Animals in space===
{{main|Animals in space}}
Fruit flies launched by the United States on captured German [[V-2 rocket]]s in 1946 became the first reported [[animals in space|animals sent into space]] for scientific study.

The first animal sent into [[orbit]], the dog [[Laika]] (in English, "Barker"), traveled in the Soviet Union's ''[[Sputnik 2]]'' in 1957. The dog was never meant to be returned back to Earth, and died five to seven hours after launch from overheating and stress. In 1960 Soviet space dogs [[Belka and Strelka]] orbited the earth and successfully returned. [http://epizodsspace.testpilot.ru/bibl/gerd/gerd/text/19.htm (Russian)]

The American space program imported [[chimpanzee]]s from [[Africa]] and sent [[Ham the Chimp|at least two]] into space before launching their first human orbiter. The Soviet Union launched [[turtle]]s in 1968 on ''[[Zond 5]]'', which became the first animals to fly around the Moon.

===Humans in space===
[[Image:Yuri Gagarin official portrait.jpg|thumb|right|[[Yuri Gagarin]], the first man in space.]]
The Soviet [[astronaut|cosmonaut]] [[Yuri Gagarin]] became the first human in space when he entered [[planetary orbit|orbit]] in the Soviet Union's ''[[Vostok]]'' on [[april 12]] [[1961]], a day now celebrated as a holiday in Russia and in many other countries. He orbited the Earth for 108 minutes. The lead architects behind the Vostok 1 mission were the Soviet rocket scientists [[Sergey Korolyov]] and [[Kerim Kerimov]].<ref name=Bond>Peter Bond, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030407/ai_n12692130 Obituary: Lt-Gen Kerim Kerimov], ''[[The Independent]]'', 7 April 2003</ref> USSR was the first ''space superpower'' that fulfilled the human spaceflight by own spaceship and own launcher.

Twenty-three days later, on sub-orbital mission [[Freedom 7]], [[Alan Shepard]] entered space for the United States. On [[20 February]] [[1962]] [[John Glenn]] became the first American to successfully orbit Earth, completing three orbits in [[Mercury Atlas 6|Friendship 7]]. The US became the second ''space superpower''.

The first dual-manned flights also originated in the Soviet Union, on [[11 August]] - [[15 August]] [[1962]]. Soviet [[Valentina Tereshkova]] became the first woman in space on [[16 June]] [[1963]] in ''[[Vostok 6]]''. [[Sergei Korolev]], the [[Russian Aviation and Space Agency|Soviet Space Agency]]'s chief designer, had initially scheduled further Vostok missions of longer duration, but following the announcement of the [[Apollo program]], [[Nikita Khrushchev|Premier Khrushchev]] demanded more firsts.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} The first flight with more than two crew members was the Soviet Union's ''[[Voskhod 1]]'', a modified version of the Vostok craft, took off on [[12 October]] [[1964]] carrying Komarov, Feoktistov, and Yegorov. This flight also marked the first occasion on which a crew did not wear [[spacesuit]]s.

[[Alexey Leonov]], from ''[[Voskhod 2]]'', launched by the Soviet Union on [[18 March]] [[1965]], carried out the first [[spacewalk]]. This mission nearly ended in disaster; Leonov almost failed to return to the capsule and, because of a poor [[retrorocket]] fire, the ship landed 1,600 kilometers (1,000&nbsp;mi) off target. By this time Khrushchev had left office, and the new Soviet leadership would not commit to an all-out lunar landing effort.

==Lunar missions==
{{main|Moon landing}}

Though the achievements made by the United States and the Soviet Union brought great pride to their respective nations, the ideological climate ensured that the Space Race would continue at least until the first human walked on the Moon.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Before this achievement, unmanned spacecraft had to first explore the Moon by photography and demonstrate their ability to land safely on it.

===Unmanned probes===

Following the Soviet success in placing the first satellite into orbit, the Americans focused their efforts on sending a probe to the Moon. They called this first attempt the [[Pioneer program]]. The Soviet Lunar program became operational with the launch of ''[[Luna 1]]'' on [[4 January]] [[1959]], and ''Luna 1'' became the first probe to reach the vicinity of the Moon. The first craft to reach the surface of the Moon was ''[[Luna 2]]'', launched on [[12 September]] [[1959]]. In addition to the Pioneer program, there were three specific American programs: the [[Ranger program]], the [[Lunar Orbiter program]], and the robotic [[Surveyor program]], with the goal of locating potential Apollo landing sites on the Moon.

===Lunar landing===
After the Soviet successes, especially Gagarin's flight, United States President [[John F. Kennedy#Space program|John F. Kennedy]] and Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] looked for an American project that would capture the public’s imagination. The Apollo Program met many of their objectives and promised to defeat arguments from politicians both on the left (who favored social programs) and the right (who favored a more military project).{{Fact|date=October 2007}}

Apollo’s advantages included:
* economic benefits to several key states in the next election;
* closing the "[[missile gap]]" claimed by Kennedy during the 1960 election through dual-use technology;
* technical and scientific spin-off benefits

In conversation with NASA’s director [[James E. Webb]], Kennedy said:

<blockquote>
Everything we do ought to really be tied in to getting on to the Moon ahead of the Russians... otherwise we shouldn't be spending that kind of money, because I'm not interested in space... The only justification (for the cost) is because we hope to beat the Soviet Union to demonstrate that instead of being behind by a couple of years, by God, we passed them.<ref>From a tape recording in the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library.</ref>{{Nonspecific|date=October 2007}}
</blockquote>

Kennedy was reminding Webb of the national security justification for the Space Race as a vital front in the [[Cold War#Crisis and escalation (1953–62)|Cold War]]. Kennedy was more explicit in his famous 1962 speech at [[Rice University|Rice]] Stadium when he stated:

<blockquote>
The Mariner spacecraft now on its way to Venus is the most intricate instrument in the history of space science. The accuracy of that shot is comparable to firing a missile from Cape Canaveral and dropping it in this stadium between the 40-yard lines. ... For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.
</blockquote>

Kennedy and Johnson managed to swing public opinion: by 1965, 58 percent of Americans favored Apollo, up from 33 percent in 1963.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} After Johnson became President in 1963, his continuing support allowed the program to succeed.

[[Image:Soyuz rocket.jpg|left|thumb|Soviet [[Soyuz launch vehicle|Soyuz]] rockets became the first reliable means to transport objects into Earth orbit.]]

The Soviet Union showed a greater ambivalence about human visits to the Moon. Khrushchev wanted neither "defeat" by another power, nor the expense of such a project. In October 1963 he characterized the Soviet Union as "not at present planning flight by cosmonauts to the Moon"{{Nonspecific|date=October 2007}}, while adding that they had not dropped out of the race. A year passed before the Soviet Union committed itself to a Moon-landing attempt.

In December 1968, the United States became the front runner in the Space Race when [[James Lovell]], [[Frank Borman]], and [[Bill Anders]] orbited the moon. In doing so, they also became the first humans to celebrate Christmas in space and a few days later they safely splashed down.

Kennedy proposed joint programs, such as a Moon landing by American and Soviet astronauts and improved weather-monitoring satellites. Khrushchev, sensing an attempt to steal superior Russian space technology, rejected these ideas. [[Sergei Korolev]], the [[Russian Aviation and Space Agency|Soviet Space Agency]]'s chief designer who designed the [[R-7 rocket]] which sent ''Sputnik'' into orbit, had started promoting his Soyuz craft and the [[N1 rocket|N1]] launcher rocket that had the capacity for a manned Moon landing. Khrushchev directed Korolev's design bureau to arrange further space firsts by modifying the existing Vostok technology, while a second team started building a completely new launcher and craft, the Proton booster and the Zond, for a manned cislunar flight in 1966. In 1964 the new Soviet leadership gave Korolev the backing for a Moon landing effort and brought all manned projects under his direction. With Korolev's death and the failure of the first Soyuz flight in 1967, the coordination of the Soviet Moon landing program quickly unraveled. Korolev's first choice for a lunar landing was [[Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov|Vladimir Komarov]], but with Komarov's death on the ''Soyuz 1'' in 1967, [[Yuri Gagarin]] and [[Aleksei Leonov]] became the most likely candidates. However, with Gagarin's death and the successive launch failures of the N1 booster in 1969, plans for a manned landing suffered first delay and then cancellation. In the end, the Soviet space program never got a man out of [[low Earth orbit]].

[[Image:Apollo 11 first step.jpg|thumb|A [[Apollo TV camera|mounted slowscan TV camera]] shows Neil Armstrong as he climbs down the ladder to surface.]]

While unmanned Soviet probes had reached the Moon before any U.S. craft, American [[Neil Armstrong]] became the first person to set foot on the lunar surface on [[21 July]] [[1969]], after landing the previous day. Commander of the [[Apollo 11]] mission, Armstrong received backup from command-module pilot [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] and lunar-module pilot [[Buzz Aldrin]] in an event watched by over 500 million people around the world. Social commentators widely recognize the lunar landing as one of the defining moments of the 20th century, and Armstrong's words on his first touching the Moon's surface became similarly memorable:

{{multi-listen start}}
{{multi-listen item|filename=Neil Armstrong small step.wav|title=Neil Armstrong's comment upon stepping onto the moon|description="That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."|format=[[Ogg]]}}
{{multi-listen end}}

Unlike other international rivalries, the Space Race was not motivated by the desire for territorial expansion. After its successful landings on the Moon, the United States explicitly disclaimed the right to ownership of any part of the Moon.

==Other successes==
===Missions to other planets===
[[Image:Venus-real.jpg|thumb|left|[[Venus (planet)|Venus]] became the first planet flown past by a spacecraft in [[December 14]], [[1962]].]]
The Soviet Union first sent planetary probes to both [[Venus (planet)|Venus]] and [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] in 1960. The first spacecraft to successfully fly by Venus, the United States' ''[[Mariner 2]]'', did so on [[14 December]] [[1962]]. It sent back surprising data on the high surface temperature and air density of Venus. Since it carried no cameras, its findings did not capture public attention as did images from space probes, which far exceeded the capacity of astronomers' Earth-based telescopes.

The Soviet Union's ''[[Venera 7]]'', launched in 1971, became the first craft to land on Venus. ''[[Venera 9]]'' then transmitted the first pictures from the surface of another planet. These represent only two in the long [[Venera]] series; several other previous Venera spacecraft performed flyby operations and attempted landing missions. Seven other Venera landers followed.

The United States launched ''[[Mariner 10]]'', which flew by Venus on its way to [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], in 1974. It became the first and only spacecraft to fly by Mercury for the next 34 years.

''[[Mariner 4]]'', launched in 1965 by the United States, became the first probe to fly by [[Mars (planet)|Mars]]; it transmitted completely unexpected images. The first spacecraft to land on Mars, ''[[Mars 3]]'', launched in 1971 by the USSR, did not return pictures. The U.S. [[Viking program|Viking]] landers of 1976 transmitted the first such pictures.

===Launches and docking===
The American ''[[Gemini 7]]'' and ''[[Gemini 6]]'' spaceflights completed the world's first [[space rendezvous]] mission between two manned spacecraft on [[15 December]] [[1965]]. The spacecrafts came within a meter and [[Orbital station-keeping|kept station]] with each other for several orbits.
<ref >{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title =THE WORLD'S FIRST SPACE RENDEZVOUS
| work =Apollo to the Moon; To Reach the Moon — Early Human Spaceflight
| publisher = Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
| date =
| url =http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/attm/rm.ey.g7.3.html
| format =HTML
| doi =
| accessdate = 2007-09-17}}</ref>

The U.S. craft ''[[Gemini 8]]'', performed the first orbital space docking on [[16 March]] [[1966]]. The first automatic [[space dock]]ing linked the Soviet Union's [[Cosmos 186 and Cosmos 188]] (two unmanned [[Soyuz spacecraft]]) on [[30 October]] [[1967]]. The first launch from the sea took place with the United States' ''Scout B'', on [[26 April]] [[1967]].

The first [[space station]], the Soviet Union's ''[[Salyut 1]]'', commenced operations on [[7 June]] [[1971]]. The lead architect behind the ''Salyut 1'' was the Soviet rocket scientist [[Kerim Kerimov]].<ref name=Bond/><ref>Betty Blair (1995), "Behind Soviet Aeronauts", ''[[Azerbaijan International]]'' '''3''' (3).</ref>

==Military competition==
Out of view, but no less real a competition, the drive to develop space for military uses paralleled scientific efforts. Well before the launch of ''Sputnik 1'', both the United States and the Soviet Union started developing plans for [[reconnaissance satellite]]s. The Soviet [[Zenit spy satellite|Zenit]] spacecraft, which by the dual-use designed in by [[Sergei Korolev|Korolev]] eventually became [[Vostok spacecraft|Vostok]], began as a photoimaging satellite. It competed with the [[United States Air Force]]'s Discoverer series. ''[[Discoverer XIII]]'' provided the first payload recovered from space in August 1960 — one day ahead of the first Soviet recovered payload.

Both the United States and the Soviet Union developed major military space programs, often following a pattern whereby the United States only completed a mockup before its program ended, while the Soviet Union built, or even orbited, theirs:
# Supersonic Intercontinental Cruise Missile: [[SM-64 Navaho|Navaho]] (test program stopped) vs. [[Buran cruise missile]] (plan)
# Small Winged Spacecraft: [[X-20 Dyna-Soar]] (mockup) vs. [[MiG-105]] (flight-tested)
# Satellite Inspection Capsule: [[Blue Gemini]] (mockup) vs. [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]] interceptor (plan)
# Military Space Station: [[Manned Orbiting Laboratory|MOL]] (plan) vs. [[Almaz]] (flown somewhat modified as [[Salyut]] 2, 3, and 5)
# Military Capsule with hatch in heat shield: [[Gemini B]] (tested crewless in space) vs. VA TKS, also known as [[Merkur (spacecraft)|Merkur]] space capsule (flown crewless as part of [[TKS spacecraft|TKS]])
# Ferry to Military Space Station: [[Gemini Ferry]] (plan) vs. [[TKS spacecraft|TKS]] (flown crewless in space, and docked with a Salyut)

=="End" of the Space Race==
[[Image:Apollo-Soyuz-Test-Program-artist-rendering.jpg|thumb|350px|The [[July 17]], 1975 [[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project|rendezvous]] of the [[Apollo program|Apollo]] and [[Soyuz programme|Soyuz]] spacecraft traditionally marks the end of the Space Race.]]

While the ''Sputnik 1'' launch can clearly be called the start of the Space Race, its end is more debatable. Most hotly contested during the 1960s, the Space Race continued apace through the [[Apollo moon landing]] of 1969. Although they followed [[Apollo 11]] with five more manned lunar landings, American space scientists turned to new arenas. [[Skylab]] was to gather data, and the [[Space Shuttle]] was intended to return spaceships intact from space journeys. Russians claimed that by first sending a man into space they had won this unofficial "race," however Americans claimed that by first landing a man on the moon they had won. In any event, as the Cold War subsided, and as other nations began to develop their own space programs, the notion of a continuing "race" between the two superpowers became less real.

Both nations had developed manned military space programs. The United States Air Force had proposed using its Titan missile to launch the [[X-20 Dyna-Soar|Dyna-Soar]] hypersonic glider to use in intercepting enemy satellites. The plan for the [[Manned Orbiting Laboratory]] (using hardware based on the Gemini program to carry out surveillance missions) superseded Dyna-Soar, but this also suffered cancellation. The Soviet Union commissioned the [[Almaz]] program for a similar manned military space station, which merged with the Salyut program.

The Space Race slowed after the Apollo landing, which many observers describe as its apex or even as its end. Others, including space historian [[Carole Scott]] and Romanian Dr. [[Florin Pop]]'s ''Cold War Project'', feel its end came most clearly with the joint [[Apollo-Soyuz mission]] of 1975. The Soviet craft ''[[Soyuz 19]]'' met and docked in space with America's [[Project Apollo|Apollo]], allowing astronauts from the "rival" nations to pass into each other's ships and participate in combined experimentation. Although each country's endeavors in space persisted, they went largely in different directions, and the notion of a continuing two-nation "race" became outdated after [[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project|Apollo-Soyuz]].

However, the Soviet leadership was alarmed at the prospect of U.S. Air Force involvement with the [[Space Shuttle]] program and began the competing [[Shuttle Buran|Buran]] and [[Energia]] projects. In the early 1980s the commencement of the U.S. [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] further escalated competition that only resolved with the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989.

==Timeline (1957-1975)==
[[Image:Space_Race_1957-1975_.jpg|thumb|right|A chart showing one interpretation of relative accomplishments with space probes and human space flight by graphing the cumulative achievement of a specific set of those accomplishments.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Significance
! Country-Agency
! Mission Name
|-
||[[August 21]], [[1957]]
||First [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] (ICBM)
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[Soviet space program|USSR]]
||[[R-7 Semyorka|R-7 Semyorka/SS-6 Sapwood]]
|-
|valign=top|[[October 4]], [[1957]]
||First artificial satellite <br>First signals from space
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Sputnik 1]]
|-
||[[November 3]], [[1957]]
||First animal in [[orbit]], the dog [[Laika]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Sputnik 2]]
|-
||[[January 31]], [[1958]]
||First detection of [[Van Allen radiation belt|Van Allen belts]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[ABMA]]
||[[Explorer 1]]
|-
||[[March 17]], [[1958]]
||First solar powered satellite
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[U.S. Naval Research Laboratory|NRL]]
||[[Vanguard 1]]
|-
||[[December 18]], [[1958]]
||First [[communications satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[ABMA]]
||[[Project SCORE]]
|-
|valign=top|[[January 2]], [[1959]]
||First firing of a rocket in Earth orbit <br>First reaching Earth [[escape velocity]] <br>First detection of [[solar wind]]
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Luna 1]]
|-
||[[January 4]], [[1959]]
||First man-made object in [[heliocentric orbit]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Luna 1]]
|-
||[[February 17]], [[1959]]
||First [[weather satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]] ([[U.S. Naval Research Laboratory|NRL]])<sup>1</sup>
||[[Vanguard 2]]
|-
||[[February 28]], [[1959]]
||First satellite in a [[Polar orbit]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[DARPA|USA-DARPA]]
||[[Corona (satellite)|Discoverer 1]]
|-
||[[August 7]], [[1959]]
||First photograph of Earth from orbit
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Explorer 6]]
|-
||[[September 13]], [[1959]]
||First impact into another world (the [[Moon]])
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Luna 2]]
|-
||[[October 4]], [[1959]]
||First photos of [[far side of the Moon]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Luna 3]]
|-
||[[April 1]], [[1960]]
||First Imaging [[weather satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[TIROS-1]]
|-
||[[July 5]], [[1960]]
||First [[reconnaissance satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[U.S. Naval Research Laboratory|USA-NRL]]
||[[Galactic Radiation and Background|GRAB-1]]
|-
||[[August 11]], [[1960]]
||First satellite payload recovered intact from orbit
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[U.S. Air Force|USA-Air Force]]
||[[Corona (satellite)|Discoverer 13]]
|-
||[[August 12]], [[1960]]
||First passive communications satellite
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[Echo satellite|Echo 1A]]
|-
||[[August 18]], [[1960]]
||First photo [[reconnaissance satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[U.S. Air Force|USA-Air Force]]
||[[Corona (satellite)|KH-1 9009]]
|-
|valign=top|[[August 19]], [[1960]]
||First plants and animals in space to return alive
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Sputnik 5]]
|-
|valign=top|1961 <!-- different firsts on different dates-->
||First launch from orbit <br>First mid-course corrections <br>First [[spin-stabilisation]]
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Venera 1]]
|-
|valign=top|[[April 12]], [[1961]]
||First [[manned spaceflight]] ([[Yuri Gagarin]])<br>First manned orbital flight
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Vostok 1]]
|-
||[[March 7]], [[1962]]
||First orbital solar observatory
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[Orbiting Solar Observatory|OSO-1]]
|-
||[[December 14]], [[1962]]
||First planetary flyby ([[Venus (planet)|Venus]] closest approach 34,773 kilometers)
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[Mariner 2]]
|-
||[[June 16]], [[1963]]
||First woman in space ([[Valentina Tereshkova]])
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Vostok 6]]
|-
||[[July 19]], [[1963]]
||First [[X-15|reusable manned spacecraft]] (''suborbital'')
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[X-15 Flight 90]]
|-
||[[July 26]], [[1963]]
||First [[geosynchronous satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[Syncom|Syncom 2]]
|-
||[[December 5]], [[1963]]
||First [[Global Navigation Satellite System|satellite navigation system]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[United States Navy|US Navy]]
||[[Transit (satellite)|NAVSAT]]
|-
||[[August 19]], [[1964]]
||First [[geostationary orbit|geostationary satellite]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[Syncom|Syncom 3]]
|-
||[[October 12]], [[1964]]
||First multi-man crew (3 members)
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Voskhod 1]]
|-
||[[March 18]], [[1965]]
||First [[extra-vehicular activity]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Voskhod 2]]
|-
||[[July 14]], [[1965]]
||First [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] flyby (closest approach 9,846 kilometers)
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[NASA|USA-NASA]]
||[[Mariner 4]]
|-
||[[December 15]], [[1965]]
||First orbital [[Space rendezvous|rendezvous]] (parallel flight, no docking)
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Gemini 6A]]/[[Gemini 7]]
|-
|valign=top|[[February 3]], [[1966]]
||First [[soft landing]] on another world (the Moon) <br>First photos from another world
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Luna 9]]
|-
||[[March 1]], [[1966]]
||First impact into another planet (Venus)
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Venera 3]]
|-
||[[March 16]], [[1966]]
||First orbital [[Space rendezvous|rendezvous]] (docking)
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Gemini 8]]/[[Agena target vehicle]]
|-
||[[April 3]], [[1966]]
||First artificial satellite around another world (the Moon)
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Luna 10]]
|-
||[[June 2]], [[1966]]
||[[soft landing]] on the Moon <br> photos from the Moon
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Surveyor 1]]
|-
||[[April 23]], [[1967]]
||First spaceflight casualty
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Soyuz 1]]
|-
||[[October 30]], [[1967]]
||First unmanned [[Space rendezvous|rendezvous]] with [[Space dock|docking]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Cosmos 186]]/[[Cosmos 188]]
|-
||[[December 21]], [[1968]]
||First human orbiting of another celestial body (Moon)
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Apollo 8]]
|-
||[[January 16]], [[1969]]
||First manned docking and exchange of crew
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Soyuz 4]]/[[Soyuz 5]]
|-
||[[July 21]], [[1969]]
||First humans on the Moon and first space launch from a celestial body
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Apollo 11]]
|-
||[[November 19]], [[1969]]
||First [[Space rendezvous|rendezvous]] on the surface of a celestial body
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Apollo 12]]/[[Surveyor 3]]
|-
||[[September 24]], [[1970]]
||First [[sample return mission|automatic sample return]] from the Moon
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Luna 16]]
|-
||[[November 23]], [[1970]]
||First [[lunar rover]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Lunokhod 1]]
|-
||[[December 12]], [[1970]]
||First X-ray [[Space observatory|orbital observatory]]
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Uhuru (satellite)]]
|-
|valign=top|[[December 15]], [[1970]]
||First soft landing on another planet (Venus) <br>First signals from another planet
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Venera 7]]
|-
||[[April 23]], [[1971]]
||First [[space station]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Salyut 1]]
|-
||June, 1971
||First [[Space observatory|Manned orbital observatory]]
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories|Orion 1]]
|-
||[[November 14]], [[1971]]
||First orbit around another planet ([[Mars (planet)|Mars]])
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Mariner 9]]
|-
||[[November 27]], [[1971]]
||First impact into Mars
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
||[[Mars 2]]
|-
|valign=top|[[December 2]], [[1971]]
||First soft Mars landing <br>First signals from Mars surface
|valign=top|[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]]
|valign=top|[[Mars 3]]
|-
||[[March 3]], [[1972]]
||First human made object sent on escape trajectory away from the Sun
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Pioneer 10]]
|-
||[[July 15]], [[1972]]
||First mission to enter the asteroid belt and leave inner solar system
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Pioneer 10]]
|-
||[[December 3]], [[1973]]
||First Jupiter flyby (at 130,000 km)
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Pioneer 10]]
|-
||[[February 5]], [[1974]]
||[[Venus (planet)|Venus]] flyby at 5768 kilometers, first gravitational assist manoeuvre
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Mariner 10]]
|-
||[[March 29]], [[1974]]
||First [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] flyby at 703 kilometers
||[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]] ||[[Mariner 10]]
|-
||[[July 15]], [[1975]]
||First multinational manned mission
||[[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|20px|]] [[USSR]] [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|]] [[USA]]-[[NASA]]
||[[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project]]
|}

==Organization, funding, and economic impact==
The huge expenditures and [[bureaucracy]] needed to organize successful space exploration led to the creation of national space agencies. The United States and the Soviet Union developed programs focused solely on the scientific and industrial requirements for these efforts.

On [[29 July]] [[1958]], President Eisenhower signed the [[National Aeronautics and Space Act]], establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ([[NASA]]). When it began operations on [[1 October]] [[1958]], NASA consisted mainly of the four laboratories and some 8,000 employees of the government's 46-year-old research agency for aeronautics, the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] (NACA). While its predecessor, NACA, operated on a [[United States dollar|US$]]5 million budget, the [[NASA budget]] rapidly accelerated to US$5 billion per year, including huge sums for subcontractors from the private sector. The Apollo 11 Moon landing, the high point of NASA's success, cost an estimated 20 to 25 billion dollars.

The amount spent by USA on the space race from 1957 - 1975 is estimated to be about $100 billion in 2004 inflation adjusted dollars. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4031857/]

Lack of reliable statistics makes it difficult to compare U.S. and Soviet Union space spending, especially during the Khrushchev years. However in 1989, the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Armed Services, General M. Moiseyev, reported that the Soviet Union had allocated 6.9 billion [[Soviet ruble|ruble]]s (about US$4 billion) to its space program that year.<ref>[[James Oberg|Oberg, James]], in ''Final Frontier'', as reprinted in ''The New Book of Popular Science Annual, 1992''</ref> Other Soviet officials estimated that their total manned space expenses totalled about that amount over the entire duration of the programs, with some lower unofficial estimates of about four and half billion rubles. In addition to ambiguity of the figures, such comparisons must also take into account the likely effect of Soviet propaganda, which pursued the goal of making the Soviet Union look strong and of confusing the Western analysis.

Organizational issues, particularly internal rivalries, also plagued the Soviet effort. The Soviet Union had nothing like NASA (the [[Russian Aviation and Space Agency]] originated only in the 1990s). Too many political issues in science and too many personal views handicapped Soviet progress. Every Soviet chief designer had to stand for his own ideas, looking for the patronage of a communist official. In 1964, between the various chief designers, the Soviet Union was developing 30 different programs of launcher and spacecraft design. Following the death of Korolev, the Soviet space program became reactive, attempting to maintain parity with the United States. In 1974 the Soviet Union reorganized its space program, creating the [[Energia]] project to duplicate the U.S. Space Shuttle with Shuttle Buran.

The Soviets also operated in the face of an economic disadvantage. Although the Soviet economy was the second largest in the world; the U.S. economy was the largest. Some observers have argued that the high economic cost of the space race, along with the extremely expensive arms race, eventually deepened the economic crisis of the Soviet system during the late 1970s and 1980s and was one of the factors that led to the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]].{{Fact|date=April 2008}}

==Legacy==
===Deaths===
When the United States' Apollo 15 left the moon, the astronauts left behind a memorial to astronauts from both nations who had perished during the efforts to reach the Moon. In the United States, the first astronauts to die during direct participation in space travel or preparation served in ''[[Apollo 1]]'': Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom|"Gus" Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]], and Pilot [[Roger Chaffee]]. These three died in a fire during a ground test on [[27 January]] [[1967]].

Flights of the Soviet Union's ''[[Soyuz 1]]'' and ''[[Soyuz 11]]'' resulted in cosmonaut deaths. ''Soyuz 1'', launched into orbit on [[23 April]] [[1967]], carried a single cosmonaut, Colonel [[Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov|Vladimir Komarov]], who died when the spacecraft crashed after return to Earth because of parachute failure. In 1971, ''Soyuz 11'' cosmonauts [[Georgi Dobrovolski]], [[Viktor Patsayev]], and [[Vladislav Volkov]] [[asphyxiated]] during reentry. Since 1971, the Soviet/Russian space program has suffered no further losses.

Other astronauts died in related missions, including four Americans (Ted Freeman, Elliot See, Charlie Bassett, C.C.Williams) who died in crashes of [[T-38 Talon|T-38]] aircraft. Soviet Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, met a similar death when he crashed in a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15 'Fagot']] fighter in 1968.

Many believe that the worst disaster in rocketry was the [[Nedelin catastrophe|R-16 failure]] in 1960, when improper shutdown and control procedures during hasty on-pad repairs caused the missile's second stage to fire straight onto the full propellant tanks in the still-attached first stage. The toxic fuel and fire killed around 100 top Soviet military and technical personnel.

Another candidate for the title of worst rocketry disaster was the [[N1 rocket|N-1]] explosion on June 3 1969. A loose bolt was sucked up a fuel pump, and after an engine shutdown the rocket hit the launchpad, thus destroying itself and the launch facility. In the disaster, many people at or near the site were killed.

===Advances in technology and education===
Technology, especially in [[aerospace engineering]] and [[Electronics|electronic]] communication, advanced greatly during this period. The effects of the Space Race however went far beyond rocketry, physics, and astronomy. "Space age technology" extended to fields as diverse as home economics and forest defoliation studies, and the push to win the race changed the very ways in which students learned science.

American concerns that they had fallen so quickly behind the Soviets in the race to space led quickly to a push by legislators and educators for greater emphasis on mathematics and on the physical sciences in American schools. The United States' National Defense Education Act of 1958 increased funding for these goals from childhood education through the post-graduate level. To this day over 1,200 American high schools retain their own [[planetarium]] installations, a situation unparalleled in any other country worldwide and a direct consequence of the Space Race.

The scientists fostered by these efforts helped develop for space exploration technologies which have seen adapted uses ranging from the kitchen to athletic fields. Dried watermelon and ready-to-eat foods, in particular food sterilisation and package sealing techniques, stay-dry clothing, and even no-fog ski goggles have their roots in space science.

Today over a thousand artificial satellites orbit earth, relaying communications data around the planet and facilitating [[remote sensing]] of data on weather, vegetation, and human movements to nations who employ them. In addition, much of the micro-technology which fuels everyday activities from time-keeping to enjoying music derives from research initially driven by the Space Race.

And with all these advances since the first Sputnik was launched, the former Soviet Union's [[R-7]] rocket, that marked the beginning the space race, is still in use today, notably servicing the [[ISS]].

===Recent events===
Although its pace has slowed, space exploration continues to advance long after the demise of the Space Race. The United States launched the first reusable spacecraft (space shuttle) on the 20th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, [[12 April]] [[1981]]. On [[15 November]] [[1988]], the Soviet Union launched [[Buran]], their first and only reusable spacecraft. These and other nations continue to launch probes, satellites of many types, and huge space telescopes.
[[Image:Space Shuttle Columbia launching.jpg|thumb|The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA).]]

The possibility of a second international space race appeared at the end of the 20th century, with the [[European Space Agency]] taking the lead in commercial rocket launches with [[Ariane 4]], and competing in unmanned space exploration with NASA. ESA's efforts have culminated into ambitious plans such as the [[Aurora Programme]] that intends to send a human mission to Mars no later than 2030 and has set various flagship missions to reach this goal. With U.S. President [[George W. Bush]]'s similar announcement in 2004, outlining a timeframe for the construction and mission plan of the [[Crew Exploration Vehicle]] (a subsequent return to the Moon and later to Mars by 2030), the two major space agencies have similar plans. The ESA has teamed up with Russia. They are likely to co-fund and develop the Crew Exploration Vehicle counterpart, [[Kliper]], which is scheduled to launch in 2011, years earlier than its American opponent, which is in an early draft status. As of 2006 the ESA has yet to fund a study of Kliper.

Other nations are also capable of increasing competition in space exploration, most notably [[Japan]], [[China]], and [[India]]. Although China's funding is not in the same league with ESA or NASA, the successful manned space flights (of [[Shenzhou 5]] and [[Shenzhou 6]]), the possessing of various-aimed satellites, and the plans in the [[Chinese space program]] for a [[space station]] in future and manned missions to Moon and lunar base in perspective makes the [[People's Republic of China]] as the third ''space superpower''. The United States military is evidently keeping a close watch on China's space aspirations, with [[the Pentagon]] releasing a report in 2006 detailing concerns about China's growing space power.<ref>[http://www.space.com/news/060605_china_military.html "Report: China’s Military Space Power Growing"] by Leonard David, Space.com, June 5, 2006, Accessed June 8, 2006.</ref>In early 2007 China launched a ballistic missile to destroy a satellite, frustrating international observers as this had violated a consensus not to attempt such maneuvers in space that have military undertones. This was some token that the space race had not really ever ended and actually had only expanded. In addition to China, India also has active space programs. India's national space agency, [[ISRO]], successfully launched an unmanned lunar mission, [[Chandrayaan-1]], on October 22, 2008. India also has plans for manned space flights in 2014-2015 and an unmanned mission to Mars in 2012<ref>
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1853057,0015002100000000.htm {{Dead link|date=January 2008}}</ref>. The Japanese Space Agency, [[JAXA]], has launched a moon probe, [[SELENE]] in 2007. SELENE is touted as the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission in the post-Apollo Era.

==Satellite launching order, by nation (''space powers'') ==
Few countries have successfully launched a satellite independently and have became the ''space powers'' and members of ''space club''. The countries which have accomplished this include (sequentially, as of February, 2007), [[former Soviet Union]], [[U.S.A.]], [[France]], [[Japan]], [[China]], [[U.K.]], [[India]] and [[Israel]]. Launch attempts of [[Iraq]] and [[North Korea]] are unrecognized. [[Brazil]] made three attempts at satellite launching in 97, 99, 03 years but none of these were successful. Few other countries continues to seek the status of ''space powers''. [[Italy]] earlier and [[Kazakhstan]] now has rocket and satellite development technology and hosts launch facility (the San Marco and Baikonur spaceports) which is used by other countries particularly (USA and Russia). [[Ukraine]] is the power producer of launch vehicles but has no spaceport of its own and conducts no launches. Multi-national [[ESA]], and private [[Sea Launch]] etc companies may be considered as other ''space powers'' and members of ''space club''.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; margin-right:50px; font-size:90%"
|-
! align=center |Rnk
! align=center |Date
! align=center |Nation
! align=center |Satellite
! align=center |Name
! align=center |kg
! align=center |Remarks
|-
| align=left | 1 || 1957 (10.4) ||align=left | [[Soviet Union]] || [[Sputnik 1]] || align=left | [[R-7]] || 84 kg || align=left |
|-
| align=left | 2 || 1958 (1.31) ||align=left | [[U.S.A.]] || [[Explorer 1]] || align=left | [[Jupiter C]] || 13.7 kg || align=left |
|-
| align=left | 3 || 1965 (11.26) || align=left | [[France]] || [[Astérix (satellite)|Astérix 1]] || align=left | Deer man || || align=left |
|-
| align=left | 4 || 1970 (2.11) || align=left | [[Japan]] || おおすみ/[[Ōsumi (satellite)|Osumi]] || align=left | L-4S 5 || 23.8 kg || align=left |
|-
| align=left | 5 || 1970 (4.24) || align=left | [[China]] || 東方紅 || align=left | 長征1型 ||
|-
| align=left | 6 || 1971 (10.28) || align=left | [[U.K.]] || Prospero || align=left | Black arrow || || align=left | in Australia
|-
| align=left | 7 || 1979 (12.24) || align=left | [[ESA]] ||CAT|| align=left | Alian 1type(L01) || || align=left |
|-
| align=left | 8 || 1980 (7.18) || align=left | [[India]] || Rohini1 || align=left | SLV || || align=left |
|-
| align=left | 9 || 1988 (9.19) || align=left | [[Israel]] || [[Ofeq]] 1 || align=left | Shabit || || align=left | launching westward
|}

==Number of satellites launched, by nation==
By the end of 2006, the total number of satellites launched worldwide was 5,736. The [[CIS]] and the U.S. launched roughly 88% of these. Below is a list of the top ten satellite-launching nations as of December 2006. Joint possession is not included.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; margin-right:50px; font-size:90%"
|-
! align=center |Rnk
! align=center |Nation
! align=center |Number (2005)
</small>
|-
| align=left | 1 || [[CIS]] ||align=left | 3228 (3212)
|-
| align=left | 2 || [[U.S.A.]] ||align=left | 1815 (1781)
|-
| align=left | 3 || [[Japan]] || align=left | 119 (111)
|-
| align=left | 4 || [[China]] || align=left | 99 (92)
|-
| align=left | || [[INTELSAT]] || align=left | 70 (69)
|-
| align=left | || ESRO/[[ESA]] || align=left | 64 (63)
|-
| align=left | 5 || [[France]] || align=left |54 (52)<small>In addition, France and Germany hold two planes jointly</small>
|-
| align=left | 6 || [[India]] || align=left | 50
|-
| align=left | 7 || [[Germany]] || align=left |38 (37)<small>In addition, France and Germany hold two planes jointly</small>
|-
| align=left | 8 || [[U.K.]] || align=left | 35
|-
| align=left | 9 || [[Canada]] || align=left | 27 (26)
|-
| align=left | 10 || [[Italy]] || align=left | 20 (19)
|}

==Commercial space race==
Another kind of ''space race'' may differ in nature from the original Soviet-American competition, as it could occur between commercial space enterprises. Early efforts in what is commonly referred to as ''[[space tourism]]'', to run the first commercial trips into orbit, culminated on [[April 28]], [[2001]] when American [[Dennis Tito]] became the first fee-paying space tourist when he visited the [[International Space Station]] on board Russia's [[Soyuz TM-32]]. The [[Ansari X Prize]], a competition for [[private spaceflight|private suborbital spaceships]], has also evoked the prospect of a new ''space race'' by private companies. In late 2004, British aviator-financier [[Richard Branson]] announced the launch of [[Virgin Galactic]], a company which will use [[SpaceShipOne]] technology, with hopes of launching sub-orbital flights by 2008.

==See also==
* [[Asia's Space Race]]
* Space vehicle guidance using the [[gyroscope|gyroscopic]] [[compass]]
* [[Celestial mechanics]], calculating the [[trajectory|trajectories]] for space travel
* [[List of spacecraft manufacturers]]
* [[US space surveillance network]] tracks objects in space
* [[Kliper]] Russian-European cooperation for a new 'space shuttle' type launch craft
* [[Crew Exploration Vehicle]] American counterpart to Kliper
* [[Spaceflight records]]
* [[Atmospheric reentry]]
* [[List of Space Exploration Milestones, 1957-1969]]
* [[Timeline of space exploration]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* ''An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963'', Robert Dallek (2003). ISBN 0-316-17238-3
* ''Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race '', Chris Gainor (2001). ISBN 1-896522-83-1
* ''Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon'', Colin Burgess, Kate Doolan, Bert Vis (2003). ISBN 0-8032-6212-4
* ''Light This Candle : The Life & Times of Alan Shepard--America's First Spaceman'', Neal Thompson (2004). ISBN 0-609-61001-5
* ''The New Columbia Encyclopedia'', Col. Univ.Press (1975).
* ''[[The Right Stuff (book)|The Right Stuff]]'', [[Tom Wolfe]] (pbk ed. 2001). ISBN 0-553-38135-0 ISBN 0-613-91667-0
* ''Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier?'', Brian Harvey (2001). ISBN 1-85233-203-4
* ''The Soviet Space Race With Apollo'', Asif A. Siddiqi (2003). ISBN 0-8130-2628-8
* ''Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft'', Rex Hall, David J. Shayler (2003). ISBN 1-85233-657-9
* ''Space for Women: A History of Women With the Right Stuff'', Pamela Freni (2002). ISBN 1-931643-12-1
* ''Space Exploration'', Carole Scott, Eyewitness Books, 1997
* ''Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge'', Asif A. Siddiqi (2003). ISBN 0-8130-2627-X
* ''Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles'', Roger E. Bilstein (2003). ISBN 0-8130-2691-1
* ''Yeager: An Autobiography'', Chuck Yeager (1986). ISBN 0-553-25674-2

== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia-2|2005-07-02|Space_Race_Part_1.ogg|Space_Race_Part_2.ogg|...}}
NASA:
*[http://catalog.core.nasa.gov/core.nsf/0/a53411230b7e8caa86256b5a005cf758?OpenDocument ''Arrows to the Moon'' synopsis] from the [[NASA]] website
*[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/satcomhistory.html Communications Satellites] from the NASA website
* [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollomon/apollo3.pdf Scan of a letter from Wernher Von Braun to Vice President Johnson], dated [[29 April]] [[1961]], providing Von Braun's personal (not professional) assessment of United States and Soviet capability. The analysis includes the opinion that the U.S. has "an excellent chance" of beating the Russians to a manned lunar landing, adding "with an all-out crash program I think we could accomplish this objective in 1967/68."
*[http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/101space/101space.htm ''"America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier"'', a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]

Other websites:
*[http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/12/03/40312.html Why Did the USSR Lose the Moon Race?] from [[Pravda]], 2002-12-03
*[http://www.hudsonfla.com/thesis.htm The 1st and 2nd Space Races Compared: Bi vs. Multi-polarity] [[Jagiellonian University]], 2006
*[http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal114/gal114.htm Space Race Exhibition] at the [[Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]]
*[http://www.thespacerace.com/ TheSpaceRace.com] – Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs
*[http://www.historyshots.com/space/timeline.cfm Timeline of the Space Race to the Moon 1960 - 1969]
*[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2004/20040503/shadows.shtml Shadows of the Soviet Space Age, Paul Lucas]
*[http://www.russianspaceweb.com/chronology_moon_race.html Chronology:Moon Race] at russianspaceweb.com
*[http://www.thespacesite.com/space/history/spacerace.php Space study hobbyists' organization]
*[http://www.deepcold.com/ Artwork representing the cold war in space]
*[http://www.geocities.com/raceintospace/index.htm Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space]: a game that simulates the Space Race, from a [[GeoCities]] website
*[http://www.spaceaholic.com/ Artifacts from the U.S. Space Program]

{{Public sector space agencies}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Spaceflight}}

[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:History of science and technology in the United States]]
[[Category:Science and technology in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Space exploration]]
[[Category:Rivalry]]
[[Category:John F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:Space policy]]

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[[it:Corsa allo spazio]]
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[[pl:Wyścig kosmiczny]]
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[[simple:Space race]]
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[[vi:Cuộc đua vũ trụ]]
[[tr:Uzay Yarışı]]
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Revision as of 15:35, 18 November 2008

Fuck you Tim Vickers

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