The Arms Race and the Space Race
Ever since the USA dropped the A powerful and destructive bomb that gets its power from the energy released when atoms are split. on Hiroshima in 1945, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - collection of states, also known as the Soviet Union. had been determined to develop its own nuclear weapons. It finally succeeded in 1949 and this began a nuclear 鈥榓rms race鈥, with both sides racing to develop more and bigger bombs. As the Cold War developed, the theory of Situation that developed due to the nuclear arms race where both America and Russia knew if they started a war it would destroy the world. (MAD) took shape, which said that the existence of such massive nuclear weapons meant that a future World War might end life on earth.
This nuclear arms race was also matched by similar competition over space and the race to the moon.
| USA | Date | USSR |
| USA drops atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. | 1945 | |
| 1949 | The USSR鈥檚 first successful atomic bomb test ends American nuclear monopoly. | |
| The UK carries out nuclear tests in Western Australia. | 1950 | |
| The USA successfully tests the first Hydrogen bomb, 2500 times more powerful than the atomic bomb. | 1952 | |
| 1953 | The USSR tests its own Hydrogen bomb. | |
| The USA publishes its Doctrine of Massive Retaliation stating that any attack on the USA or its allies would be met with incredible destructive force. | 1955 | |
| 1957 | The USSR launches Sputnik 1 - the world鈥檚 first telecommunications satellite. Sputnik 2 was launched later that year and carried a small dog named Laika 鈥 the first living animal to go into orbit. | |
| The USA tests Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). | 1958 | |
| The USA deploys Polaris submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles close to the shore of the USSR | 1959 | The USSR launches Luna 1 - the first man-made object to orbit the sun |
| Following the launch of the USSR's Luna 1 the USA sent Pioneer 4 to do a fly-past of the Moon | In response, the Soviets then launched Luna 2 at the moon | |
| The USA launches Discovery XIV - the first satellite equipped with a spy camera. | 1960 | |
| The USA responds by launching its own Apollo missions, and Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. President John F Kennedy challenges America to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. | 1961 | The USSR puts the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space. |
| The USSR detonates the Tsar Bomba, a nuclear bomb which produced the largest ever man-made explosion. | ||
| The American astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, become the first men to walk on the moon. | 1969 |
| USA | USA drops atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1945 |
| USSR |
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1949 |
| USSR | The USSR鈥檚 first successful atomic bomb test ends American nuclear monopoly. |
| USA | The UK carries out nuclear tests in Western Australia. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1950 |
| USSR |
| USA | The USA successfully tests the first Hydrogen bomb, 2500 times more powerful than the atomic bomb. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1952 |
| USSR |
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1953 |
| USSR | The USSR tests its own Hydrogen bomb. |
| USA | The USA publishes its Doctrine of Massive Retaliation stating that any attack on the USA or its allies would be met with incredible destructive force. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1955 |
| USSR |
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1957 |
| USSR | The USSR launches Sputnik 1 - the world鈥檚 first telecommunications satellite. Sputnik 2 was launched later that year and carried a small dog named Laika 鈥 the first living animal to go into orbit. |
| USA | The USA tests Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). |
|---|---|
| Date | 1958 |
| USSR |
| USA | The USA deploys Polaris submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles close to the shore of the USSR |
|---|---|
| Date | 1959 |
| USSR | The USSR launches Luna 1 - the first man-made object to orbit the sun |
| USA | Following the launch of the USSR's Luna 1 the USA sent Pioneer 4 to do a fly-past of the Moon |
|---|---|
| Date | |
| USSR | In response, the Soviets then launched Luna 2 at the moon |
| USA | The USA launches Discovery XIV - the first satellite equipped with a spy camera. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1960 |
| USSR |
| USA | The USA responds by launching its own Apollo missions, and Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. President John F Kennedy challenges America to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1961 |
| USSR | The USSR puts the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space. |
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Date | |
| USSR | The USSR detonates the Tsar Bomba, a nuclear bomb which produced the largest ever man-made explosion. |
| USA | The American astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, become the first men to walk on the moon. |
|---|---|
| Date | 1969 |
| USSR |
Revision tip
Look at the table below so you are secure in your understanding of when the leaders of each superpower changed: