There's a first time for everything. First love, first kiss and first... you know. But
after WW2, the globe's two superpowers entered a race to conquer space - and everything
was a first there. Let's take a look:
If you looked up at the night sky between October 1957 and January 1958, you'd be able to see
Sputnik I, the first ever artificial Earth satellite. Sputnik was a metal sphere
with four radio antennas. It was visible all around the Earth and people could listen to
its signals on the radio. But, to the surprise of many, it was built and launched by the
Soviet Union, publicly perceived by Western countries as an inferior technological power.
This triggered what is now known as the Sputnik Crisis, a period of public anxiety in the
US due to the scientific gap between the two superpowers. In reaction to it, NASA was created
and the space race began.
"Although the Soviets are quite likely ahead in some missile and special areas
"and are obviously ahead of us in satellite development,
"as of today the military strength of the free world is distinctly greater than that of the communist countries."
"How many more surprises have Russian scientists up their sleeves for the public?
"Two things are astonishing about Sputnik II: Its weight, more than half a tonne and its live passenger: a dog."
In November 57, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik II and in it, the first ever animal
in space (at least to our knowledge). Laika, a stray dog selected from the streets of
Moscow, was never expected to survive the mission, as technology to de-orbit still didn't
exist. However, the dog survived both the launch and the conditions in outer space and
then died within hours from overheating. This experiment proved that a living passenger
could survive a launch into orbit and weightlessness, marking a cornerstone towards human spaceflight.
The space race continued at a faster speed and both superpowers of the Cold War developed
projects to put the first human in space. The US was developing Project Mercury...
"Some of these days we're going to have power plants that will enable man to ride in space
"and make decisions on where he wants to go and what he wants to do as much as we do in airplanes now."
But again, it was the Soviet Union that succeeded first. On 12th April 1961,
Vostok I was launched with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first ever human to journey in
outer space and to orbit the Earth. After returning home safely, Gagarin travelled
abroad to promote the Soviet Union's accomplishment.
"The Russian TU-104 touched down at London Airport. And its passenger, one of the world's most famous men,
"Yuri Gagarin, his initials on the number plate made for the occasion.The man who won a place in history
by going in orbit around the Earth came to London to visit the Soviet Exhibition."
Two years and five Vostok missions later, on the 16th June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became
the first woman to fly in space. But not only that, she was also the first civilian to fly
in space, as she had been selected from over 400 candidates.
"Arriving at London Airport was the woman who last June made 49 orbits of the Earth: Valentina Tereshkova.
"She made a place in history demonstrating that woman is on equal terms with men in the conquest of space."
For 12 minutes, cosmonaut Alexey Leonov was spacewalking, as he became the first person
to ever leave a spacecraft in a specialized spacesuit. It was March 1965 when the Soviet
Union launched the Voskhod II. Yet another step for the Russians in the race that was
now, effectively, being run out there in space.
"In America, astronauts where still only training for this important activity
"and it was not until 3 months later that Ed White climbed out of his Gemini IV capsule
"as it travelled around the Earth at 17,500 mph."
When JFK said this before the US Congress in 1961:
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out,
"of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
After several set backs,
8 years later, the American astronauts of Apollo XI became the first ever humans to set foot on the moon.
These images and Neil Armstrong's landing transmission speech were broadcast and seen
by, at least, 600 milion people.
"Step off the LEM now. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
"Quite dark here in the shadow. It's a little hard for me to see that I have good footing.
"I'll work my way over into the sunlight here without looking directly into the sun."
Apollo XIII was the third intended mission to land on the Moon. Astronauts Lovell, Swigert
and Haise were launched on 11th April 1970. Two days later, they had to abort lunar landing
after an oxygen tank exploded, damaging the Service Module. The American crew dealt with
limited power, loss of cabin heat and shortage of potable water. They had to makeshift repair
the carbon dioxide removal system in a highly critical operation. Luckily, with the assistance
of NASA's Mission Control, the rescue was successful and they returned safely to Earth on 17th April.
Thankfully, in history, only three people could be considered to have perished in space.
It happened in 1971, when Soviet space mission Soyuz XI was about to return to Earth, after boarding a
space station. On board, cosmonauts, Dobrovolsky, Volkov and Patsayev, who died when the capsule
depressurized during preparations for reentry. The three crewmembers are the first and only
humans to have died outside the Earth's atmosphere
in what could be considered the only extraterrestrial casualties to date.