As Wernher von Braun is rumored to have once soberly remarked to his team: “We must not forget that this is only the beginning of a new age, the age of rocket flight. Yet even the von Braun’s, engrossed as they were in the efforts of war making, saw great potential outside of military application for their deadly inventions. The long-range missiles offered promise of being effective artillery, capable of hitting targets remotely with both precision and destructive power, while leaving their operators safe out of harm’s way. That was surely the case with the German V2 rocket program. Wartime has always seemed to have a curious effect on the sciences and technology: nations, when placed under the gun of another power, almost always seek to make their own guns much, much bigger. It was the work of Wernher von Braun, and his brother Magnus, that played the biggest role in shaping rocket technologies during the years of the Second World War. The pressures and events of the Second World War, however, would also play a massive role in the development of the technologies that would be precursor to the Soviet feat. These reforms allowed the nation to modernize industrially to the point that it was more than capable of developing various forms of rocketry. Three ‘Five Year Plans,’ the likes of which employed state planning on an extraordinary scale, guided Stalin’s reforms. The effect of the dictator’s rise to power in 1928 was twofold: the country was updated industrially at an unbelievable rate, but it meant massive human cost, ushering in a time of unmatched hardship and tyranny for the people living under Soviet rule. To advance to a level of rocket-science competence in so short a time would require drastic reformation and reinvention of societal structure. īut how did the Soviets do it? Prior to the Second World War, Russia was very much behind technologically and industrially. Understanding the ripple effect made by this shiny, 180-pound aluminum sphere, dropped front-and-center in the world pond, is vitally pertinent in comprehending the vibrant history of the mid-20 th century. Politics, culture, science, history-the very fabric of the human tapestry itself-would be forever shaped by the dawn of the space age. People began to wonder: ‘How far could humanity journey into the last frontier? Would this great technological feat come crashing down upon humankind’s own head in the form of a warhead? What could possibly be the outcomes of this historic moment politically?’ The start of the space race did not present itself in just one stream of modern current, but in many. It was to ignite the fear, imagination, and wonder of the world.
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The ignition of the Soviet missile that carried Sputnik into the heavens was much more than a mere exothermic reaction, however.
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The Sputnik 1, so named for the Russian word used conversely for both “companion in travel” and “satellite,” became the first man-made object to be placed in low earth orbit. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union became the first nation to reach space.