Sixth Grade
Worksheets
The Space Race
In the 1950s, the United States and the U.S.S.R. were having a Cold War. This nonviolent conflict would last more than forty years. Each of these countries wanted to be the world's most powerful nation. The United States was a capitalist country. The U.S.S.R. (or Soviet Union) was a communist country. Each country thought it was superior. Each tried to outdo the other.
The Space Race really began earlier. An organization called the ICSU announced in 1952 that mid-1957 to the end of 1958 would be a good time to launch an artificial satellite. In July 1955, the United States began their efforts to make one. The U.S. satellite was named Vanguard.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I. Sputnik I was the first manmade object sent to space. It was only the size of a basketball, but it was a very big achievement for the Soviet Union! This success led to increased tensions between the two superpowers.
