Lesser-Known Facts About the Space Race

The fierce rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union led to an extraordinary space race. Both these countries invested heavily in this domain in the hopes of attaining supremacy. There are some lesser-known facts about this space race and some of them are discussed below.

Zambia Joined the Space Race

A rather unknown country, Zambia had plans to complete a moon landing in 1964, five years before the Americans. Its space program was spearheaded by a schoolteacher, Edward Mukuka Nkoloso.

Nkoloso was unable to secure any funding for his project. He trained his twelve prospective astronauts by using an old drum. The drum was rolled around a tree or down a hill to simulate flight conditions. Trainees also learned to walk on their hands. Nkoloso believed this to be the only possible way to walk on the moon.

He once said that he would be the one laughing when he plants Zambia’s flag in lunar soil. Obviously, his dream never became a reality. Trainees began leaving his program because he couldn’t pay them. Two of his top astronauts never returned for training after getting drunk once. Similarly, another one of them joined a movie troupe. Zambia had to exit from the space race when the last remaining trainee became pregnant.

Space-themed Playgrounds

While the space race was ongoing, both the countries spent a lot of money to develop space-themed playgrounds. They were filled with amusements modeled after rockets, satellites, and planets. This captured the imaginations of children, ensuring that neither nation was short of candidates for its space program.

The space-themed equipment started disappearing from American playgrounds in 1973. The formation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission shifted the manufacturing focus from aesthetics to safety. Twenty years later, many schools did away with playgrounds altogether. Basically, the authorities asked the directives to replace dirt, grass, and asphalt in playgrounds with rubber and sand. They didn’t like that idea and the remaining space-themed equipment was scrapped.

The Soviet Union Offered Technical Aid to the US

The space race was initiated by the Soviets when they launched Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. Soon after that, they sent a dog to space. The United States’ claim to technological superiority was challenged and they hastened to defend it.

They attempted their first space launch on 6^th December 1957, with the Vanguard 1A rocket. Over a hundred reporters were present to witness the rocket explode, once it got barely 3 feet off the ground. The incident was broadcast live and instantly made the US the subject of much ridicule.

American journalists referred to it as “flopnik” and “kaputnik”. A New York Times editorial was dedicated to criticizing the US space program. The Soviet Union also capitalized on this opportunity by offering the United States some technical assistance.

The Soviet Union Won the Space Race

The Americans may have been the first to land on the moon but a lot of people consider their rivals as the winners of the space race. This achievement was one of the precious few firsts that they ever achieved in this battle.

The Soviets were the first to launch a satellite into orbit. They were also the first to send an animal and humans to space. The first-ever spacewalk was also performed by a cosmonaut. They eventually needed to stem funding for their space program to prevent starving their citizens to death. This is one of the major reasons why the Americans beat them to the moon. Despite that, they achieved a lot more milestones than the US in this domain.

The Space Shuttle Wrecked the Soviet Space Program

It’s not common knowledge but the Americans weren’t the only ones to build a space shuttle. The Soviets built one too and they stole design plans from NASA to do it. That was easily accomplished as the US left the plans unclassified and publically available.

The Soviet shuttle was called Buran and there were plans to dock it on the Mir space station. However, the Soviet economy was in shambles at the time of Buran’s construction. The Union was unable to invest more in its space program. Buran flew once in 1990 and was decommissioned in 1994. In 1995, a NASA shuttle docked at Mir space station, using facilities that had been built for Buran.

The Space Race Was Actually an Arms Race

Rockets make for excellent spacecraft and they’re ideal for delivering warheads to enemy soil. The Soviets were in the lead for much of the space race owing to their long-range rockets. The original purpose of these rockets was to deliver nuclear payloads to the United States. The Americans had been designing long-range bombers for similar purposes.

When the Sputnik was launched, the potential for a Soviet strike on the US mainland was recognized. This fear prompted President Eisenhower to initiate the space race.