US Strategic Air Command develop a policy of constant readiness. Commander Curtis Le May identified 6000 targets in the USSR to be hit if war broke out.
First H-Bomb Detonated
November 1952
1000 times more powerful than the A-Bomb.
"Portable" H-Bomb Developed
March 1954
An H-Bomb small enough to be dropped from a bomber.
1955
1955
U2 Spy Plane
July 1956
USA develops a spy plane to spy on Soviet weapons development.
Atlas/Minuteman and Polaris Developed
1959
USA develops Atlas and Minuteman ICBMs. Also Polaris missiles which can be fired from a submarine. US public is wrongly told that the USSR have more missiles than them. Public worry.
Cuban Missile Crisis
October 1962
First Man on the Moon
1969
Apollo 11 - Other Apollos researched to ensure safety of man on the moon. Kennedy had promised to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Other Apollos sent up dogs and humans that orbited the moon to check landing site.
USSR
First A-Bomb Detonated
Aug 1949
USSR detonates its first atomic bomb. The USA predicted that the USSR wouldn't be able to develop it until 1953.
First H-Bomb Detonated
August 1953
"Portable" H-Bomb Tested
September 1954
First ICBM Developed
May 1957
Inter continental ballistic missile
Sputnik 1
4 October 1957
USSR launches Sputnik satellite into orbit. USA shocked by Soviet advances in the "Space Race". USSR can now launch rockets into Earth's atmosphere and guide them to a target. Could be applied to missiles with nuclear warheads. Start of the Space Race.
First Man In Space
12 April 1961
Yuri Gagarin is the first man in space. He went up in the Vostok 1 satellite and received many awards for his achievement.
Bigger H-Bomb Detonated
October 1961
USSR detonates an H-Bomb with more power than all of the explosives used in WW2 from both sides put together.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
5 August 1963
USA and USSR agree, in Moscow, not to test any more nuclear weapons.