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Sputnik & Cold War

The Emergence of Space Race through the "Sputnik" Launch: U.S. Responses to the Cold War

Mid-20th century signified the emergence of a significant event that defined the future development of countries all over the world, in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres of the world. During this period, the Cold War developed as a result of the containment policy that the United States had propagated, in response to the increasing support and popularity of Communism in Asian and East European countries. Cues from Communist countries like the Soviet Union bloc elicited corresponding responses from champions of democracy such as the U.S. What emerged, then, was a competition between Communism and democracy, represented primarily by the Soviet Union and U.S., respectively.

Among the "cues" prompted by the Soviet Union to the U.S. was the eventual development of a space race, wherein Soviets were able to produce and launch the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I. Through the Sputnik program, Soviet Union explored the Earth's geo-atmospheric features, survival during space flight, and most important of all, development of rocket technology. These are the threats that the U.S. felt when Soviet Union launched Sputnik I. Responding to this threat, U.S. also produced its own artificial satellite and created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to further develop its space technology. A space race began between the two nations, wherein Soviet Union would launch a newly-developed satellite, and U.S. would correspondingly react by producing its own artificial satellite.

This state of affairs during the early developments of the Cold War has cemented strong alliances of countries for both nations. The Soviet Union enjoyed the support of its Asian contemporaries, and also wielded strong influence and power among East European countries. U.S., meanwhile, created its own alliances among its Western contemporaries, of which Great Britain was its strongest partner.

This paper explores the implications of the launching of Sputnik I, as a catalyst that prompted the space race, further intensifying the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S. This paper posits that with the launching of Sputnik I, a space race emerged, which cemented the conflict between the Soviet Union and the U.S. This established conflict, in turn, created strong alliances for both nations, wherein the U.S. was able to gain the unflagging support of Great Britain. In effect, because of the space race, hostility between Soviet Union and the U.S. increased, prompting the latter to create a Western alliance to combat the threats of the former.

An important thing to understand in analyzing the effects of the space race to the formation of Western alliance is to identify its relevance to both countries. The importance of the space race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. lies on each country's ability to use technology in its military operations. This function of space technology was reflected in a report by Martel & Yoshihara (2003), wherein space is considered vital for the maintenance of the U.S. national security and its commercial activities. Commercial activities include the monitoring of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), wherein all financial transactions are determined and tracked down from all over the world. In terms of national security, GPS satellites also help improve the military capacity of the U.S. military. An example of this improved capacity of the military is the development of an "electro-optical, hyperspectral, infrared, and radar satellites to see what are happening on the battlefield" (20).

This dependence on artificial satellites demonstrated the essence of space technology to the U.S. Similarly, Soviet Union had also relied on space technology as the forefront to improve and increase its military power. As mentioned earlier, the Sputnik program was developed to enhance the space technology, wherein tracking systems are put into place, in order to make effective and strategic military operations smoother. It is in this context that the U.S. felt Soviet Union as a threat, since improved and increased production of space technology meant that there is also a corresponding increase in the capacity of the country to defend itself militarily. This threat was verbalized by the U.S., wherein containment of Communist nations such as Soviet Union was necessary because "...the Soviet Union has acquired awesome military capabilities" (Mueller, 2004:621).

The unprecedented and initial launching of Sputnik I, which served as the catalyst for the space race between Soviet Union and the U.S., compelled the latter to create alliances to support its military activities in Eastern Europe and Asia. In light of the expanding scope of the Communist ideology in both regions, U.S. deemed it wise to create a strong alliance with another Western country, Great Britain. Prior to the threat of communism, Soviet Union, U.S., and Great Britain were considered allies, specifically during World War II. However, the Cold War and the increased presence and activities of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and Asia prompted the U.S. To create and maintain a Western alliance with Great Britain, this time with Soviet Union as the enemy. Thus, the space race intensified the conflict between Soviet Union and the U.S., while at the same time, it strengthened the alliance between the U.S. And Great Britain.

The effects of this strong Western alliance were felt by the Soviet Union long before the downfall of Communism began. Through a strong alliance, U.S. was able to strengthen its space technology and space flight programs, giving challenge to its Soviet counterparts in terms of technological capabilities and space knowledge. The rapid increase in production and development of space flights by the U.S. demonstrated that it has equal or greater power and resources to compete against Soviets and ultimately, win the space race. This political and military strategy was explicated by Ronis (2004), who stated that (17):