First Vehicle In Space
On October 3, 1942, the German V2 missile became the first vehicle to reach space. The V2 was the worlds first Ballistic missile and was built to bombard the allies from a long range. The missile would fly high into the atmosphere and then come back down to deliver its 2,000 pound payload.
Beginning of the Space Race
After World War 2, the United States and the Soviet Union became the world’s global powers. The use of nuclear weapons in Japan during the war caused the Soviets to created their own nukes for if there was any potential conflict with the United States. With the help of German Scientists who had worked on the V2, both countries started developing their own Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) to deliver these weapons long distances. The United States and the USSR became locked in a nuclear arms race.
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On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite into orbit using a modified R-7 Semyorka ICBM, Sputnik 1. This led to the United States quickly trying to launch one of their own satellites into orbit. In December of that same year, the US tried to launch the Vanguard Satellite. However, the Rocket only got a few feet of the launch pad before it fell back down and exploded.