The Space Race

SWBAT describe the significant historical benchmarks that characterized the space race between the US and USSR.

Hook video: October Sky - reaction to Sputnik

After Sputnik awakened the US to the fact that the Soviets were more technologically advanced than previously thought, space fever swept the nation.  The US formed NASA and both the US and USSR set their sights on the Moon.  Sergei Korolev, the chief rocket engineer for the Soviet Union, was Wernher Von Braun's counterpart, but he was kept secret for fears that the US would attempt to assassinate him.  What followed was a long series of triumphs and tragedies, which culminated with our success when we landed on the moon (more on that tomorrow).

Timelines:

An interactive timeline with great visuals:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/space-race-history.html
A slightly less interactive timeline with great readings: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/timeline/
An extremely concise timeline that clearly specifies Soviet and US accomplishments: http://www.thespacerace.com/timeline/

Detailed readings:

Space Race (Collins 1999), pages 50 & 51 - shows images of Wernher Von Braun and his soviet counterpart, Sergei Korolev.

Space Race (Cadbury 2006), Chapter 14 - details chief engineer Korolev's development of the Soviet cosmonaut program and the Nedelin disaster, and Von Braun's Mercury program.

The Race For Space (Kuhn 2007), Chapter 3 - details the accomplishments of some of the first US astronauts.

Assignments:

Timeline - On a piece of printer paper folded in half (hot dog style), develop a timeline of accomplishments in the space race.  Put the US accomplishments on one side, the Soviet on the other.  Put the dates in the center.

Mastery Check 2.26 - Click here to take it.