Arms Race + Space Race 1945 - 85

Question 1

When were first atomic bombs?

Answer 1

1945 USA developed + used Hiroshima and Nagasaki

1949 Soviets successfully test first nuclear bomb

Question 2

When were first Hydrogen bombs?

Answer 2

USA - 1952 tested 1st
USSR - 1553

Question 3

When were ICBMs unveiled?

Answer 3

Soviets 1957
USA 1958, nuclear armed submarine launched 1959

‘one-upmanship’

Question 4

Situations by 1960s

Answer 4

USA 8,000 ICBMs vs 7,000 for USSR
both sides developed anti ballistic missile systems late 1960s
MAD reached

Question 5

Cuban missile crisis

Answer 5

1962
Deployment of Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba (under Castro) comes close to war, but secret deal struck between Kennedy + Khrushchev -> criticised by commie regimes

Question 6

When was Sputnik launched?

Answer 6

1957 man made satellite orbits Earth, inflamed paranoia in West

Question 7

What was the USA’s response to Sputnik?

Answer 7

1958 successfully launched Explorer 1
Set up NASA, vast sums of money invested into gaining supremacy in Space

Space battleground for economic + prestigious supremacy

Question 8

When does the USSR send first man into Space?

Answer 8

April 1961 Yuri Gagarin
vs failed attempt by USA in May

Question 9

When were the Moon Landings?

Answer 9

1969 USA effectively ‘wins’ Space Race

Question 10

What collaborative mission took place in 1975?

Answer 10

Apollo-Soyuz space station w/ US and Soviet astronauts indicates improvement of relations

Question 11

When did Reagan announce SDI?

Answer 11

‘Star Wars’ 1983 sought to develop satellite that could defend USA from nuclear attacks

USSR no longer able to compete economically