Yuri Gagarin

I. Political and Economic Situations surrounding the Space Race in America “The good news for space exploration in general is that public opinion favors it – but only when not taking economic costs and budgetary spending into consideration.” (Hsu) Setting up the backdrop for the rise of the space program simultaneously builds the opposing argument for its continuation past 1969 as well. As culturally beneficial as it eventually resulted to be, it can be widely agreed that the initialization…

Don't say that he's hypocritical, Say rather that he's apolitical. Tom Lehrer – “Wernher von Braun” July 20, 1969, 10:56 p.m. Eastern Standard Time: Half a billion people watched with pride as an American airman from Ohio took the first step onto the moon. He and his two compatriots had traveled almost 400,000 kilometers through space––the culmination of two decades of research and 150 billion dollars. The American flag planted on the Moon proved a capstone moment in the space race. This…