Soviet scientific developments
A large part of the tensions during the cold war was the competition of technology. In August 1957, the Soviet Union launched ICBM, an intercontinental ballistic missile, which is a guided ballistic missile with a minimum range of more than 5,500 kilometres primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery. This technology led to the development of Sputnik, the first unmanned satellite, which was launched on October 4th, 1957. It would orbit the Earth every 98 minutes until it eventually entered Earth's atmosphere on January 4th, 1958. It was the impetus for the technological advances made in the rest of the cold war. Later in 1957, they also launched Sputnik II, which held a small dog named Laika. This was the first satellite launched into space holding a living creature.
American Scientific DEvelopments
The advancements made by the Soviet Union pushed the United States to put more money and time towards technology because they had quickly fallen behind. The extra effort paid off in 1958 when the United States launched their own satellite, Explorer I, under the direction of Wernher von Braun. That same year, President Eisenhower signed a bill that created NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which is the United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for space developments went on for over 10 years. The tension came to a head in 1969 when Apollo 11 was launched and Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon.
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