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Example research essay topic: Cold War Space Race - 1,370 words

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War is an event that represents the situation of a state and how it is revolutionized. It introduces new factors that sometimes force nations others to join in the enhancing of ideas. In particular, the new face of the ideological or new age concept was brought up. The United States of America and the former Union of Soviet Socialists Republic engaged in an ideological conflict known as the Cold War from 1945 to 1989. It was a time of differences between democracy and communism. The other main consequence of the Cold War was also a great scientific and technological advancements.

Both superpowers possessed highly destructive arms for their offense and defense that induced fear in the other. This fear caused the launch of the Space Race: a derby of government-funded scientific advancements to take the human race into space. The space program is, to a large extent, the result of the Cold War. The rivalry between the US and the USSR for being the head power but with different ideologies had preceded the Second World War.

Both nations had unprecedented tension flowing between them. Among many of these tensions were the financial and propaganda issues that made them enemies. These facts made a series of competitions such as economic strategies and propaganda. Among these competitions is one of the most important; the Space Race. The Cold War fueled an important opportunity to humankind, which much advanced space technology.

Before the Cold War initiated, during World War II, much of the basic technology had already been developed. The main contribution came from the German's Von Braun's V- 2 rocket, a missile that had the basic scientific process to launch an object into space. After the German defeat, the war ended splitting the world into two major camps and the old wartime allies US and USSR became real enemies. The main way of gaining more support was the propaganda that each nation projected to each other. The Communists took over the Russian Government before World War II that foreshadowed conflict with the anti-Communist US.

On one side of the battle was Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe that had fallen under his dictatorship. On the other side were the United States and its allies, Western Europe and Canada in particular. The free world feared the dictatorship of Stalin, and Stalin feared the nuclear weapons of the free world, or the allies. This fear had then started a tremendous arms race leading to the development of hydrogen bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), along with many other weapons. The most obviously visible part of the Cold War was the arms race. Massive and expensive expansion on military action and advancement movements by both nations involved caused a new concept of thinking.

Mutually assured destruction or MAD was the philosophy that "both nations had the power to destroy each other completely in the event of an attack." This theory was based on three ideas. The first was that both nations had enough weapons to destroy the other. The second was both nations could detect a first strike before it arrived. The last idea was both nations were able to respond quickly before they were hit by the first strike.

The invention and perfection of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) was the beginning of MAD. The ICBM was a creation made possible by the Space Race. Back in October of 1942 and after more than a decade of experiments, Nazi Germany launched its first successful V- 2 rocket. The Vengeance Weapon 2 was constructed to shoot warheads to long-range targets.

Capable of delivering explosives to 150 miles in just five minutes, the V- 2 proved its worth as an effective weapon of terror. Nearly 3, 000 V- 2 s were launched against England, France and Belgium during World War II. For decades, each side developed powerful weapons to keep up with the other side and try to dominate militarily. Both sides took advantage of the captured German V- 2 rockets that gave them the basic principles to defy gravity. These nation leaders had their engineers improve on the thrust power of the German designs. At the close of the war, captured V- 2 s became the building blocks for the development of rocketry in both the United States and the Soviet Union.

Intelligence units, or spies, scattered all around to uncover supplies, information and personnel associated with German rocket technology. The MAD concept was effective. Though the Cold War came close to becoming a serious battle numerous times, it never did because inadequate funding. There was no point to why any country was willing to kill itself over a simple decision. The threat of nuclear missiles was not in their use, but in their misuse, disposal, and testing.

The real problem with a nuclear weapon was that it could be accidentally fired or used in a situation of confusion. The main reason to why the cold war worked it's way into space begins in 1952, when the International Council of Scientific Unions decided to establish the International Geophysical Year (IGY). This year was from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, and existed because the scientists knew that the cycles of solar activity would then be at a high point. In October 1954, the council accepted a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be launched during the IGY to map the Earth's surface. In July 1955, the White House announced plans to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite for the IGY and solicited proposals from various Government research agencies to undertake development. In September, 1955, the Naval Research Laboratory's Vanguard proposal was chosen to represent the U.

S. during the IGY. While postwar U. S. leaders still believed bombers were better suited to their needs, the Soviets continued to develop rockets, ballistic missiles, and the first spacecraft. With the Russian launch of Sputnik in 1957, Americans began to fear they were far behind Soviet scientists in technology. "We are willing to enter any reliable agreement which would mutually control the outer space missile and satellite development. ", said President Eisenhower regarding catching up to the USSR.

Both sides realized the same rocket that could deliver a warhead could also send a man into orbit -- and the space race was on. On October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U. S. -U.

S. S. R space race. "People around the world could turn on their radio and hear the little satellite emit a constant beeping sound." Little did the listener know that Sputnik was also the first spy satellite, as it left Russian territory, and flew over the western hemisphere. Satellites were then considered to be the best method of spying on the other nation during the Cold War.

It was against international law to fire a weapon outside of the atmosphere, so satellites could not be destroyed while doing its duty. They were permitted to fly anywhere and take pictures of the other nation. The technology was incredible. Spy planes were no longer needed, as photographic equipment from these satellites was able to read such detailed information as the license plates on cars. The world's first artificial satellite was launched, demonstrating the technical abilities of the Soviet Union.

This shiny basketball-sized sphere took Americans by surprise. Fearing attacks from afar, and distressed over being beaten by its Cold War rival, the United States jumped into the space race. The U. S.

Defense Department responded to the political furor by approving funding for another U. S. satellite project immediately after the Sputnik I launch. As a simultaneous alternative to Vanguard, Weather Von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on the Explorer project. The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which established to get the U. S.

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