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Post-War Space Race
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, two nations appeared and shared world domination. The United States and the Soviet Union fought in every way to demonstrate superiority over each other.
The economy between the two States was divergent: the United States still led capitalism, while the Soviet Union improved its socialist political and economic project.
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There was a world division. On one side were the nations allied to the USA and capitalism, on the other the allies of the Soviet Union – prone to socialism. This movement started the Cold War.
The Cold War lasted from 1945 to 1991. During this period, the two groups strengthened themselves in every way, preparing for combat. There was heavy investment in the weapons industry and in new technologies.
Political activities increased during this period, with the creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) by the USA, a bloc that included Western European countries and Canada. The Soviet Union joined Eastern European countries and put the Warsaw Pact into practice.
The first satellites
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Because of investment in technology, there was an intense space race between the two blocks. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union sent the artificial satellite “Sputnik” into space.
Practically a month later, the “Sputnik 2” satellite was launched. The satellite had a passenger, who would be the first terrestrial living being to enter orbit: a little dog called Laika.
On April 12, 1961, Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin also entered orbit, becoming the first human being to personally experience space.
The American counterattack arrived after 8 years, through the Apollo 6 spacecraft, which sent astronauts Michael Collins, Edwin Aldrin Jr and Neil Armstrong to the Moon.
In 1991, there was the end of the Soviet Union and the fall of the socialist model. With the dismemberment of the bloc, the Cold War and the space race ended.
