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Final Post

Looking back on this assignment it has opened my eyes to the bright future that comes our way, that will further advance mankind into places we haven't reached before. But it wouldn't have started without two bitter rivals and dream. That dream would be to conquer space. It was a dream that had merit and value for future generations to come. It allowed humans to travel outside of our blue planet and go into the depths of space. Through my research I have been amazed at the impact this event had on the world. Every accomplishment in the universe set the stage for the next mission. It is a never ending cycle that must keep going at any cost. It is in our best interest that we keep funding these programs as it will benefit us in the long term. I'm sure most people will agree with me. If the space race didn't bring us electronics and computers where would we be today as a society? This is why we need to explore and develop our space programs whether you are from the States, Canada or Russia to find new ideas and new technologies that will save lives or even enhance our standard of living. But the probability of this future of space riches (as I call it) of happening depends on how you contribute and believe that one day technology will be so advanced that you it will take you more than while to figure out. I'm referring to how young people today adapt to technology and how advanced minded they are towards these devices and tools. Which is why you maybe being born in the 90's that has a strong voice today could change the future for the next generations to come be more advanced and more privileged than you were. Which will ultimately make then safer, smarter and better than previous years before. Anyways the space race has taught me many new things such as: that it wasn't just US vs USSR it was democracy against communism and the better way of life and government, also the pride the americans had towards NASA and space missions which makes me wonder why the US government shutdown space launches and most of NASA. I hope you enjoyed reading my information and thoughts, I always appreciate people commenting and giving their opinion on these topics and ideas. Thanks again! and maybe more in the future possibly?maybe?not

Peace out from mission command (wow that was cheesy, sorry)

Update: Presentation

As many of you don’t know I had to present my ideas and findings about the space race. It was a challenge to put all my ideas together and formulate one thesis about this event. During my presentation it was interesting to understand other people’s point of view towards the question who won the space race. My answer would be to a literal and pick the United States just because of the moon landing and taking advantage of the space program in the long term. But many of my peers understood the winner to be us, no not the US but humanity in a whole. The people of the Earth are the winner of the space race. So me being stubborn I asked why we would be the winners. They responded as saying even though it was between two superpowers this event created many benefits for humans as it changes our lifestyle with technology, mobile phones, satellite communication and eventually the internet. As they started to explain more in detail I started to think two things: 1. Wow they actually listened to my presentation (they were referencing some of the points I made earlier) and 2. Maybe I was looking at this from the wrong angle. They completely changed my stance on this issue and totally went outside of the box and stunned me.

Well thankfully that wasn’t my only question I asked my peers. I also asked a question along the lines of: Would you have rather spend the money used in this event towards the space race or towards other essential needs like health care, poverty, infrastructure, hunger, etc.? My stance on this issue was maybe put the money towards health care and poverty, etc, MAYBE. But when the few hands raised the ideas just flowed. One peer said towards the space race because we wouldn’t have the things we would have today and it was putting money towards our future, the long term plan. Another student said to poverty and hunger and that this money could’ve saved lives now so they can live on to see the future, and maybe the short term is better. I was completely split on this question cause we don’t know how the other side will work out, which is why maybe the space race should get the money.

I want to hear your ideas on these two questions/topics thank you for reading!!!

As I am nearing the end of my blog entries I will steer away from answering the questions and talk about my thesis and evidence that supports my arguments. So I want to focus on a specific piece of evidence written by Seth Borenstein of the National Post. It explains that the Space Race was in fact a turning point (which it was) and goes into depth as in why? and how? Well to begin, the space race sets the mark as when Neil Armstrong took that first small step on the moon in July 1969, an entire globe watched in grainy black-and-white from a quarter million miles away. An estimated 600 million people which is around 1 out of every 5 on the planet has watched it live."The two historical events likely to be long remembered from the 20th Century are the moon landing and the first atomic bomb", said Smithsonian Institution space curator Roger Launius. Although the Cold War may have silenced the significance of the event at the time, but over the years to come the importance of the moon landing has only grown. Because so many people watched this event it created a scientific culture among many peoples. It promoted better technology and imspired many people to develop and improved on the current space program whether it be in Russia, the US or other nations on Earth. Practically everyone can relate to a what is considered a "Space Event" such as the moon landing or recently Commander Hadfield controlling the ISS being the first Canadian to do so. 

Well its that time to try and tune up and revamp my arguments and thesis to have a better impact on my presentation. It will help teach my peers that the Space Race was not a one time event, in fact it has been on going and is still happening all over the world in different forms and between different nations. So this is what I have so far:

Thesis:  The space race is a major turning point in human history.

Argument 1:  The amount of inventions and patents has dramatically increased after the Space Race

2: The fact that it is still ongoing but not in the same form as many countries still try to get the upper hand on each other through their space technology

3: So many people witnessed the moon landing which created a gateway for more advanced technology and created a urge to travel and understand space

Please tell me what you think of my thesis and arguments in the comment section 

Thanks for reading...

Interesting Story

As I was searching around the internet for modern "Space Races" I came upon an article on yahoo.ca that was posted not too long ago. Summary:

China launched a rocket into space on Monday but no objects were placed into orbit, the Pentagon said.China has said the rocket, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in western China, carried a science payload to study the earth's magnetosphere.Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, declined to comment specifically on the rocket launch, but said China was clearly taking a more aggressive posture in space.Monday's rocket launch was similar to launches using the Blue Scout Junior rocket that were conducted by the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s for research on Earth's magnetosphere, McDowell said in an emailed response to questions.The 1976 launch was Gravity Probe A, when NASA and McDowell's institute worked together to launch an atomic clock to 10,280 km. Monday's launch came less than a week after U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter unveiled what he called a "Long overdue" effort to safeguard U.S. national security satellites and develop ways to counter the space capabilities of potential adversaries.

This aggression that China has shown puts the US in a tough position as the States relies heavily on their satellites. If their were to be a conflict involving the US and China the satellites would be in a vulnerable position. As I was digging deeper into this issue I came across a CNN article written in 2009. I found these statements that really proved that the Space Race is on going. Before you read these statements the USA always and I mean ALWAYS wants to have to best technology and be the world's Superpower at any cost.

"They certainly are on a fast track to improve their capabilities," Chilton said. "They're to be commended for the achievements that they've done in such a short period of time."

Uh Oh! If you are America you should be shaking in your boots. The man saying the quote is Gen. Kevin Chilton, head of the U.S. Strategic Command, which is in charge of the military's space operations thats when you know its true. China is in a excellent position if they want to really scare the US with their space program as they are growing really quickly.

China's intentions in space are a matter of great interest to the United States

Really China? We all know thats a lie...ok moving on

...there is an internal struggle within the Chinese military for who will control the space mission.
Umm this is really not good. If it falls into hands that doesn't like to follow rules it could be detrimental for the US and maybe another Space Race would occur. It is possible!

...place a manned space station in orbit by 2020, according to a Defense Department report to Congress about China's military capabilities. It also is testing the Long March V Rocket, the world's largest, to lift heavy payloads into space and double its current capabilities.China is also developing microsatellites that weigh less than 100 kilograms.China has the ability to conduct some space military operations. As it showed in 2007, the country can attack low orbiting satellites.

This is really really not good for the US. China's capabilities is almost expanding faster that the USA's. This can cause major uproars in the US as the US likes to have military dominance. Having China be in control of these gadgets and military weapons can be intimidating and is as they would be capable to knock satellites out of orbit and severely damage many nations defense capabilities.

I urge you to read this article as it might be shocking and the truth. It was written 4 years ago making me wonder how much more advanced did they get? But this proves that the traditional space race is still effecting many nations space programs as they learned many techniques from the Apollo and Gemini missions.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/18/china.space/index.html?iref=allsearch

6. When did the space race start? Did it end?

        There is a controversy surrounding the start of the space race. Many people believe it started after World War II when the Soviets and Americans rushed to get German scientists so they can build advanced weaponry that the Germans were testing and using. At this point both nations wanted rocket capability and once they figured out how to get a rocket into orbit it opened a new chapter in human history. But many people also believe that the race started when the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 into space which caused a major panic in the U.S. This led to a rapid sequence of events in the United States and the Soviet Union which helped mobilise the industrial resources of both superpowers. These two superpowers were gearing towards the goal of being the dominant power in space. There is one other theory that the space race is still happening and has always been going on since the early 1900`s with the Wright brothers. Ever since then many nations have launched many satellites and conducted missions to better advance humanity. The current space race is currently between 15 nations that have orbital launch capabilities. These countries include: Brazil, China, India, Russia, Israel, U.S.A., France, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Pakistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

       With the Gemini and Apollo programs the US had taken a huge lead in the Space Race. In July of 1975 with relations between the US and the Soviet Union beginning to thaw. The US and Soviet Union conducted their first joint mission which occurred with the Apollo-Soyuz project. The Space Race was effectively over. But was it? Through my extensive research I believe that it is still going on but in different forms. The race no longer exists between the US and Russia but between countries that are neck and neck with each other such as North and South Korea. The only reason South Korea launched a satellite into space was because the North did so. It is presumed that North Korea has nuclear launch capabilities which angers the South into trying to make their own. Another example would be between Iran and Israel. These two countries are at each others throats creating a competition that would involve space exploration and capabilities. And for a third example would be India and Pakistan, two bitter rivals fighting for space dominance of the other. As we consider the US-Soviet Union competition as being the main fight we forget that space is massive and that their is always going to be nations trying to gain knowledge about space and create technology to further advance as a country.

FUN FACTS:

• The Russians called their space pilots cosmonauts meaning "sailors of the universe". The Americans were called astronauts meaning "star sailors".
• Before Kennedy was assassinated, the Russians and the Americans were discussing working together to put a man on the Moon. After he was killed, the Russians backed off the joint venture.
• The US would likely have had the first satellite in orbit if they had been allowed to use military rockets from the start. However, Eisenhower was worried he would be called a warmonger if he used military rockets for space. He told the scientists they must use research rockets instead.
• 12 billion dollars went into developing a pen that writes in zero gravity for NASA. The Russians just used a pencil
• 500 million watched the moon landing in 1969
• To this day there is still debris from the Apollo 11 mission floating in space

More fun facts next week....

4. Who won the space race? Why was this event important?

As I was researching the controversy topic of who won the space race? I came upon a non biased website that based their answer on three perspectives. Well these answers can be seen from three different angles according to universe today: who struck first, who pulled ahead, and who learned to work together. Well the program that “struck first” was the Russians with the launching the satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957, followed soon by the manned flight by Yuri Gagarin in 1961. Sputnik 1 became the first ever artificial satellite that orbited Earth and they became the first nation to launch a human into space.






The U.S. however won the “who pulled ahead “perspective by completing successful missions regularly. After being head-to-head NASA was able to land many successful missions on the moon. However the Russian space program ran into a great deal of trouble as many missions were unsuccessful which cost them the lead to the Americans.






Both NASA and the Russian Space Program “learned to work together” as they made great strides to gain knowledge about the universe. They began cooperating when the U.S. started the Apollo II mission. Russians had a lunar probe in orbit at the same exact time as the Apollo II. Both agencies worked together to avoid a collision that would’ve cost millions of dollars to fix and repair. Their cooperation continued with the Apollo-Soyuz mission and various space station missions.



The space race’s importance in history is great as the two super powers eventually came together to share knowledge and advance much quicker and cost effectively. These two bitter rivals found common ground with the interest in space. It eventually leads to the end of the Cold War. With my next couple of questions I will go more in depth of the significance and importance.