SPACE RACE HISTORY - SPEECH

1. Good morning, Miss Romesh and fellow students. Have you ever wondered how the
International Space Station became the technological piece of intricacy that we have today?
How space technology advanced, and how Elon Musk came to be? This all started from the 20-
year long Space race that began in 1957. - Yash

2. The Space Race was an unofficial competition between the Soviet Union (the USSR) and the
USA, to see who would become the masters of space flight and exploration capabilities. This
race is what led to many of the developments in space technology that we see today, through
various events. - Yash

3. The Soviet Union began the space race by making the first achievement, when they launched
the satellite Sputnik 1 into space in 1957. Sputnik 1 became the first man-made object ever to
go into space. The USA began to put more of their capabilities into space technology to get into
the space race from here onwards. - Naqiyah

4. Another USSR victory was to follow closely, with the launch of Sputnik 2. However, this time it
was an even bigger success, as a dog named Laika was put into the satellite and launched with
it, making it the first living being to enter space. However, this was where the competition truly
began. - Naqiyah

5. The USA entered the space race with Explorer 1, a satellite considerably more advanced than
both of the Soviet’s satellites. It also allowed the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt,
making people consider it an extremely big jump forward in space technology. - Naqiyah

6. After another series of Explorer satellites, the US launched SCORE, which was the world’s first
ever communications satellite. Once launched into orbit, a pre-recorded Christmas message by
President Eisenhower was broadcasted on New Year’s Eve. Here is the original audio. - Hakshaya

7. Next, to counter the Soviet Union, who had finally sent Yuri Gagarin to space aboard the Vostok
1 as the first human being to do so, the USA had their first man-controlled space journey. This
was piloted by astronaut Alan Shepherd. Although this flight did not orbit the earth, it was sent
about 116 miles high. This lasted for 15 minutes. - Hakshaya
8. The Soviet Union created an even stronger counterattack, with Alexei Leonov spacewalking after
leaving his spacecraft. Leonov utilised a special USSR spacesuit, allowing him to conduct the first
ever spacewalk. It was truly a special 12 minutes in history. - Hakshaya

9. It was only 3 years after this that a victory emerged in the space race, after a brutal series of
space accidents. In 1969, US Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz Aldrin became the first
men to walk on the moon, while their crewmate Michael Collins continued to orbit the moon
aboard the Apollo 11. 723 million people viewed this historic event live on their televisions while
it was broadcasting, where Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words, “One small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.” - Zaid

10. The USSR launched the first ever space station 2 years later. While this may have been quite
significant at the time, it has led to even more important developments today, as the USSR
space station consisted of key elements needed to build up the massive International Space
station’s basic structure which was completed in 2011. - Zaid

11. Known as the final event in the space race, this mission was led by US astronaut David Scott,
who was the first person to Moon-drive. After leaving the spaceship, Scott walked on the Moon
and planted a plaque with a list of astronauts who died serving the advancement of space
exploration. What was special about this was that the plaque contained the names of both USSR
and US astronauts. This led to a significant drop in tensions between the USSR and the USA. -
Adrito

12. After this, the first co-operative space mission between the USA and the Soviet Union was
launched, which was the Apollo-Soyuz mission. This was where the two space commanders Tom
Stafford and Alexei Leonov shook hands for the first time, making it an international sensation.
From that point onwards, this was seen to have symbolically end the Space Race, and it paved
the way for more joint missions between the United States and the Soviet union. - Adrito