Preceden

Space Race

US Arm's Race

First Atomic Bomb Successful

July 16, 1945

First atomic bomb was tested by Americans in New Mexico and was successful. Ended WWII.

http://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/9681/first-appearance-of-a-weapon-with-the-power-of-a-nuclear-bomb

"Super Bomb" Successful

1952

Americans tested the first Hydrogen (or thermo-nuclear) bomb. Beating the Russians in the creation of what was known as the "Super Bomb"

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/100243/A-test-of-a-US-thermonuclear-weapon-at-Enewetak-atoll

ICBM

January 1954

The ICBM was a result of the policy John Foster Dulles came up with called the "massive retaliation" in response to any major Soviet attack on the US.

http://elginhistory12.wikispaces.com/Intercontinental+Ballistic+Missile

NORAD

1958

Complex 2,500 ft inside Colorado's Cheyenne Mountains to detect and track Soviet Union's nuclear strikes.

http://www.norad.mil/Portals/29/Images/Emblems/North-Portal_large.jpg

Emergency Broadcast System

1963

This was created so the president could address the entire country in the state of an emergency.

http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Emergency_Alert_System?file=275px-Ebs_logo.jpg

Soviet Union Arm's Race

First Atomic Bomb Successful

August 29, 1949

Soviets succeed with first atomic bomb at a sight at Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan.

http://www.thisdaytrivia.com/content/atom_bomb_ussr.jpg

Tsar Bomba (King of the Bombs/ Big Ivan)

October 1961

Soviets set off a bomb that is said to be the largest bomb the world has seen up to this point in time. With an estimated 58 megatons, the equivalent of more than 50 million tons of TNT, or more than all the explosives used during World War II. This is set off after the US and USSR agree to limit nuclear testing.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/tsar-bomba.jpg

Russians Plant Missiles in Cuba

October 1962

US discovers that the Russians are planning to plot nuclear missiles in communist Cuba.

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/50th-anniversary-the-cuban-missile-crisis

Russians Shoot Down American U-2

October 27 1962

American U-2 Plane accidentally flies into Russian territory and another US plane is shot down in Cuba.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Air_Force_U-2_(2139646280).jpg

Soviets End Missel Crisis

October 28 1962

In a speech aired on Radio Moscow, Khrushchev announces the dismantling of Soviet missiles in Cuba and does not insist on his demands concerning the removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey.

http://www.history.com/photos/john-f-kennedy/photo10

US Space Race

First American Satellite to Orbit

January 31, 1958

Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Launch_of_Jupiter_C_with_Explorer_1.jpg

First American Weather Satellite

April 1, 1960

Tiros 1, the first successful American weather satellite, is launched.

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/dev/hillger/TIROS-1_image.jpg

First American in Space

May 5, 1961

Alan B. Shepard becomes first American in space.

http://astronautscholarship.org/Astronauts/alan-b-shepard-jr/

First American Space Walk

June 3, 1965

Ed White performs America's first spacewalk. Jim McDivitt remains in the Gemini capsule.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/EdwardWhite.jpeg

First American Men on the Moon

July 20, 1969

Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon while crew mate Michael Collins orbits around the Moon alone.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20120826/101104.shtml

Soviet Union Space Race

Launch of Sputnik 1

October 4, 1957

USSR launches Sputnik 1 into space.

http://www.virginmedia.com/digital/science/space/space-race.php?ssid=2

Launch of Sputnik 2

November 3, 1957

Russians launch Sputnik 2 into the space with a dog named Laika aboard. Rocket goes into orbit.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/107443/Laika-the-dog-who-became-the-first-living-creature-sent

Launch of Luna 1

January 2, 1959

First Russian man-made object to orbit the sun.

http://blogasarea.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/luna-1-launch.jpg

First Russian Man in Space

April 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.

http://www.space.com/16159-first-man-in-space.html

First Russian Women in Space

June 16, 1963

Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.

http://www.universetoday.com/102956/cosmonaut-valentina-tereshkova-1st-woman-in-space-50-years-ago-ready-for-mars/attachment/1370955693/