Arms Race and Space Race

?

Causes of Arms Race

  • Insecurities on both sides
  • Anxiety of Proliferation- fear of nuclear knowledge being spread to different countries
  • USSR dropped atomic bomb in 1949 before the US had expected them to
  • National pride- way to raise presitage and reuptation- 1962 spending $50 billion under Kennedy
  • Domestic factors e.g. employment of 30 million and the military industrial complex
1 of 4

Key Weapons and Delivery Systems

Weapons

  • 1945- Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • 1949- USSR test first atomic weapon
  • 1952- US Mike Tests 100x more powerful than Hiroshima
  • 1955- USSR's Third Idea, as powerful as US H-bomb
  • Development of massive relatiation- belief that huge nuclear arsenal would deter attack
  • 1961- USSR test Tsar Bomba, but CIA discovered it could not be loaded onto an ICBM

Delivery Systems

  • 1950s-60s: strategic bombers, ICBMs, short range missles and ballistic missles from submarines
  • 1956- USSR deploy TU20 Bear- long range, could reach USA, successful ICBM test in May
  • USA focusing of IRBMs- smaller range but could target USSR from Middle East
  • 1961- test of Minuteman ICBM- could strike USSR from West
2 of 4

Key Space Race Events

  • October 1957- USSR sent Sputnik into orbit, November Sputnik 2 + Laika the dog
  • December 1957- failure of USA's Vanguard, 'flopnik'
  • Jan 1958- USA successful launch of Juno I rocket
  • April 1958- Eisenhower creates NASA
  • April 1961- Gargin first man to fly in orbit on Vostok 1, in May USA do same with Shepard on Freedom 7
  • September 1963- Kennedy proposes USA and USSR join forces, Krushchev rejected
  • Jan 1967- UN Treaty on Princples of Outer Space signed by USSR and UK banned WMDs in Earth's orbit
  • July 1969- Apollo 11 makes Neil Armstrong first man on moon
  • 1975 Apollo-Soyuz link up
3 of 4

Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Cuban Revolution 1959 under Castro
    • USSR cut of trade links
    • Khrushchev makes deal with Cuba to take trade and stations 40 missiles and 50,000 soldiers
    • Attempt to overthrow Castro with Bay of Pigs invasion- disasterous
  • Missile crisis after Kennedy spots missiles with spy planes
    • Establishes military blockade, Soviet ships change course in October
    • 26th October telegram saying Krushchev would end the crisis if Kennedy didn't invade
    • 27th October said would end if Kennedy withdrew Jupiter missiles from Turkey
    • Kennedy accepted first terms and agreed to remove Jupiter missiles in secret
  • Consequences of crisis:
    • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963 banned tests in atmosphere, space,sea
    • Hot line set up between USA and USSR to improve communications
    • 1964 Khrushchev removed, replaced by Brezhnev
    • Policy of MAD embraced
4 of 4

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar History resources:

See all History resources »See all Cold War resources »