Who was the first to travel to outer space? Space battles between the USSR and the USA

Space battle - this is how you can denote the rivalry between the two superpowers - the USSR and the US - in the exploration of outer space during the second half of the last century. The beginning of this event was laid by our country, first by launching an artificial satellite of the Earth, and then there was a man launching into a completely new reality for him - into space. Later, the first spacewalk took place.

Progress in Engineering and Technology

The twentieth century was a true scientific and technical breakthrough for mankind. Especially the period after the Second World War gave impetus to the development of rocketry - something that had previously been inaccessible, it was quite possible to implement. People have long been eyeing and trying to study outer space, but this was done exclusively from the surface of our planet. The second half of the last century was the real dawn of space exploration and the era of studying near space. Especially far in this advanced geopolitical opponents of that period - the USSR and the United States. The United States was developing in this direction, especially when the "father" of German missile technology V. von Braun appeared in this country. He was the pioneer of the European region in this direction of engineering and design thought. However, long-term developments were also carried out in the USSR. The founders of the Russian rocket-building thought (Tsiolkovsky, and later Korolev) first theoretically, and then practically justified their conclusions.

The first steps in the exploration of outer space

The end of the fifties had a truly impressive impact on the minds of contemporaries. The Soviet Union first put into orbit an Earth satellite designed by engineers. Many peoples met this event as a huge progress in scientific and technical thought, but for America this meant, although small, but a defeat in this match. Even greater furor produced an event that occurred on the April day of 1961. It was then that Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin became the ancestor of all astronauts, irrespective of their nationality, and the first person to travel outside the Earth. Preparation of the flight was conducted in an environment of increased secrecy. After all, our country risked not only the life of a particular person, but also its authority in the international arena. The stakes were very high, but the results were comparable. After that, our country became a leader in space exploration. American President John F. Kennedy at a meeting of his government said about the accelerated program of research and allocation of large investments in space exploration.

Competition of Minds

The person who first visited outer space, would provide his country with the title of space leader or take a reciprocal step on the opponent's move. Both countries actively undertook the preparation of this event. American NASA tried to speed up the process of building manned spacecraft, but the rush led to the opposite result. The lack of experience led to a breakdown - the tests were noticed on the tests, so human victims were avoided, but the deadlines were seriously violated. In the USSR, at the same time, similar calculations were carried out and the preparation of the man who will be the first in outer space. The slightest shortcomings could seriously affect the entire future program of developing a new world for man. In addition, the haste and party control had a rather oppressive effect on all project participants. And yet, our compatriot turned out to be the first who visited the open space.

Historical moment

This man was Alexei Leonov. It was he who was chosen from a galaxy of well-trained astronauts. And at the end of 1964, careful preparation and development of all possible situations that might arise during this flight began. And then came the long-awaited moment, in 1965 (March 18) the ship "Voskhod-2" appeared in near-earth orbit. After a short preparation, Alexei Leonov first went into open space. The location outside the spacecraft was very short, about twelve and a half minutes. It was a monumental step in the history of all mankind. However, even for such a short time, an extraordinary situation happened. The astronaut 's space suit increased in size, and Alexei Arkhipovich could not get back into the ship's lock. But he did not panic - having weakened the internal pressure of the spacesuit, he achieved its reduction in size and was able to enter back into the spacecraft.

Flight incidents

Those who first visited the open space, had great courage and endurance, these personality qualities helped him in the future. With Leonov there was another unpleasant situation - during the landing the descent vehicle was outside the calculated point of landing. But this circumstance did not embarrass the brave conqueror of the cosmos. When landing, he was in a remote taiga, and at this time there were severe frosts. In such conditions, the crew stayed for two days, only on the third the rescue team made it to them. For his feat AA Leonov was awarded the title of "Hero" of the country. The Americans acknowledged their defeat, but intensified their preparations for the flight and disembarkation of the man to the moon, but it happened four years later and did not diminish the merits of Soviet engineers and cosmonauts. And Alexei Leonov is the person who first visited the open space and forever wrote his name in the annals of history.