The document summarizes the Space Race between the US and USSR from 1957 to 1969. It describes early satellite launches like Sputnik 1 and 2, and the first animals and humans sent into space. Key events included Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human in space in 1961, followed by Alan Shepard and John Glenn for the US. The Space Race concluded with the US achieving the major goal of landing astronauts on the Moon in 1969, led by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11.

1. (Slide1) Space RaceThe Space Race was an informal competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, as each side tried to match or better the other's accomplishments in exploring outer space. It involved the efforts to explore outer space with artificial satellites, to (Slide 2) send man into space, and to land him on the Moon.(Slide 3) The Space Race effectively began after the Soviet launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. Sputnik-1On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched 'Sputnik 1 into space, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, thus beginning the Space Race and making the USSR the first space power.The Space Race became an important part of the cultural, technological, and ideological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. (slide 4) Space technology became a particularly important arena in this conflict, because of both its potential military applications and the morale-boosting social benefits.Satellite communicationsThe first communications satellite, the American (Slide 5) Project SCORE, launched on 18 December 1958,and relayed a Christmas message from (Slide 6) President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the world. Other notable examples of satellite communication during (or spawned by) the Space Race include:(Slide 7) 1960: Echo 1A: first passive communications satellite(Slide 8) 1962: Telstar: the first \"
active\"
communications satellite (experimental transoceanic)(Slide 9) 1963: Syncom 2: the first geosynchronous communications satellite (Clarke orbit)(Slide 10) 1972: Anik 1: first domestic communications satellite (Canada)(Slide 11) 1974: Westar: first U.S. domestic communications satellite(Slide 12) 1976: Marisat: first mobile communications satelliteLiving creatures in spaceAnimals in spaceThe first animal sent into orbit, the dog (Slide 13) Laika traveled in the Soviet Union's (Slide 14) Sputnik 2 in 1957. The dog was not meant to be returned back to Earth, and died five to seven hours after launch from overheating and stress. In 1960 Soviet space dogs (Slide 15) Belka and Strelka orbited the earth and successfully returned.The American space program imported chimpanzees from Africa and sent at least two into space before launching their first human orbiter. The Soviet Union launched tortoises, flies, and mealworms in 1968 on (Slide 16) Zond 5, which became the first animals to fly around the Moon.Humans in spaceThe Soviet cosmonaut (Slide 17) Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space when he entered orbit in the Soviet Union's Vostok on April 12, 1961, a day now celebrated as a holiday in Russia and in many other countries. He orbited the Earth for 108 minutes. The lead architects behind the Vostok 1 mission were the Soviet rocket scientists Sergey Korolyov and Kerim Kerimov.Twenty-three days later, on sub-orbital mission (Slide 18) Freedom 7, (Slide 19) Alan Shepard entered space for the United States. On 20 February 1962 (Slide 20) John Glenn became the first American to successfully orbit Earth, completing three orbits in Friendship 7.\"
End\"
of the Space RaceIn December 1968, the United States became the front runner in the Space Race when (Slide 21) James Lovell, (Slide 22) Frank Borman, and (slide 23) Bill Anders orbited the moon. In doing so, they also became the first humans to celebrate Christmas in space, and a few days later they safely splashed down.(Slide 24) Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the lunar surface on 21 July 1969, after landing the previous day. Commander of the (Slide 25) Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong received backup from command-module pilot (Slide 26) Michael Collins and lunar-module pilot (Slide 27) Buzz Aldrin in an event watched by over 500 million people around the world.