How America Went from Dead Last in the Space Race to First on the Moon
About this episode
The episode explores how the United States overcame early setbacks in the Space Race to achieve the moon landing.
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 1950s, the Soviet Union seemed to have an insurmountable lead in the Space Race. American rockets exploded, astronauts lost their lives, and many doubted the United States would ever reach the Moon. Yet less than 12 years after Sputnik, Neil Armstrong took humanity's first steps onto another world. Space historian Steve Kates, better known as Dr. Sky, tells the remarkable story of the Apollo program, from Sputnik and Apollo 1 to Apollo 8's daring journey around the Moon and the triumph of Apollo 11. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
People in this episode
Host: Our American Stories
Guest: Steve Kates
Topics covered
- Space Race
- Apollo program
- American history
- Soviet Union
- moon landing
- space exploration
Keywords
- Space Race
- Apollo program
- moon landing
- Neil Armstrong
- Sputnik
- space history
- Steve Kates
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Our American Stories, iHeartPodcasts
Places: United States, Soviet Union
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- Why Wayne Gretzky Is Still the Greatest Hockey Player of All Time
- The Revolutionary Idea Behind America's Independence
- More Americans Died on This British Prison Ship Than in Battle
- The Small-Town Lessons That Built a World Series Champion
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