How the media covered the Space Race...?

After World War II, the Cold War began as the United States and the Soviet Union competed for the power and control over space exploration. The rivalry between the two nations over space superiority lasted from 1957 starting with the Soviet Union launching an artificial satellite into orbit called Sputnik 1 through 1969 when the United States launched Apollo 11 into space which resulted in Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. A few years later in 1975, the United States and the Soviet Union officially ended the Space Race with a joint mission when Apollo 18 docked with the Soviet Union’s Soyuz spacecraft.

With limited media outlets and without the help of the Internet, news was only accessible through radio, television, and newspapers. The coverage of the Space Race was divided between limited media outlets that also included several magazines including Time and Life.

These media outlets provided the public with different views of the Space Race whether from a positive or negative angle. Depending on the public, the messages sent by the media where seen as a threat to the United States as the Soviet Union advanced with their technology. Some articles that were published by Life included articles that focused on the satellite “Sputnik.” With headlines that read “Why did U.S. lose the race?” focusing on the United States Department of Defense and Armed Forces, it created a mass hysteria that pressured the United States to advance and compete with the Soviet Union. 

With a number of media outlets reporting about unclear events that are happening in the United States, how much did the media affect the public’s opinion on the Space Race and how did they react to the United States involvement against the Soviet Union in the race for space exploration supremacy?

The media played a huge factor when affecting the feelings of the American public. The use of stories and articles written to cover the advancement of both United States and Soviet Union created a support for the government to compete with its rival. Even though the progress of the United States Space Program was not clearly covered by these media outlets, they still provided the public with current news on more significant events that can be found in Life, Time, and in the New York Times. At the end, it resulted in numerous attempts from both sides, with both nations succeeding in the Space Race ending with the Neil Armstrong setting foot as the first human being on the moon as well as a number of artificial satellites functioning in outer space from both the U.S. and Soviet Union.

My decision to make this blog involves the phenomenon that began in the late 1950s through the mid-1970s. I hope that my interest in this subject entertains your mind as well as your thoughts since this is a large portion of our history.


Launch of Sputnik, Oct. 4, 1957 <----Link

1969 Moon Landing, Apollo 11 <---- Link