THE MAKING OF A NATION 208 - Space Race

THE MAKING OF A NATION - August 29, 2002: Space Race

By Jeri Watson
VOICE 1:
This is Phil Murray.
VOICE 2:
And this is Rich Kleinfeldt with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the

history of the United States.

(Theme)
Today, we tell about the race to explore outer space.
VOICE 1:
On a cold October day in nineteen-fifty-seven, the Soviet¹ Union launched³ a small

satellite into orbit⁴ around the Earth. Radio Moscow made the announcement.
((TAPE: Radio Moscow)
)
[English translation:] "The first artificial⁵ Earth satellite in the

world has now been created. This first satellite was today successfully launched in the

USSR.
"
The world's first satellite was called Sputnik One. Sputnik was an important propaganda⁶
victory for the Soviets⁷ in its cold war with the United States.

Many people believed the nation that controlled the skies could win any war. And the Soviet
Union had reached outer space first.

VOICE 2:

The technology that launched Sputnik probably began in the late nineteenth century. A Russian teacher of that
time, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, decided⁸ that a rocket engine could provide power for a space vehicle.

In the early nineteen-hundreds, another teacher -- American Robert Goddard -- tested the idea. He experimented
with small rockets to see how high and how far they could travel. In nineteen-twenty-three, a Romanian student
in Germany, Hermann Oberth, showed how a spaceship might be built and launched to other planets⁹.

VOICE 1:

Rocket technology improved during World War Two. It was used to produce bombs. Thousands of people in
Britain and Belgium died as a result of V-Two rocket attacks. The V-Two rockets were launched from Germany.

After the war, it became clear that the United States and the Soviet Union -- allies¹⁰ in wartime -- would become
enemies in peacetime. So, both countries employed German scientists to help them win the race to space.

VOICE 2:

The Soviets took the first step by creating Sputnik. This satellite was about the size of a basketball. It got its
power from a rocket. It orbited¹¹ Earth for three months. Within weeks, the Soviets launched another satellite into
Earth orbit, Sputnik Two. It was much bigger and heavier than Sputnik one. It also carried a passenger: a dog


named Laika. Laika orbited Earth for seven days.

VOICE 1:

The United States joined the space race about three months later, it launched a satellite from Cape¹² Canaveral, in
the southeastern state of Florida. This satellite was called Explorer One. It weighed about fourteen kilograms.
Explorer One went into a higher orbit than either Sputnik. And its instruments made an important discovery.
They found an area of radiation about nine -hundred-sixty kilometers above Earth.

VOICE 2:

The next major space victory belonged to the Soviets. They sent the first man into space. In April, nineteen-sixtyone,
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched in the vehicle known as Vostok. He remained in space for less than
two hours. He landed safely by parachute near a village in Russia. Less than a month later, the United States sent
its first astronaut into space. He was Alan Shepard. Shepard remained in space only about fifteen minutes. He did
not go into Earth orbit. That flight came in February, nineteen-sixty-two, with John Glenn.

VOICE 1:

By nineteen-sixty-five, the United States and the Soviet Union were experimenting to see if humans could
survive outside a spacecraft. In March, Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to do so. A
special rope connected him to the spacecraft. It provided¹³ him with oxygen to breathe. And it permitted him to
float freely¹⁴ at the other end.

After about ten minutes, Leonov had to return to the spacecraft. He said he regretted the decision. He was having
such a good time!

A little more than two months later, an American would walk outside his spacecraft. Astronaut Edward White
had a kind of rocket gun. This gave him some control of his movements in space. Like Leonov, White was sorry
when he had to return to his spacecraft.

VOICE 2:

Later that year, nineteen-sixty-five, the United States tried to have one spacecraft get very close to another
spacecraft while in orbit. This was the first step in getting spacecraft to link, or dock¹⁵, together. Docking¹⁶ would be
necessary to land men on the moon. The plan called for a Gemini spacecraft carrying two astronauts to get close
to an unmanned satellite.

The attempt failed. The target satellite exploded as it separated from its main rocket. America's space agency¹⁷
decided to move forward. It would launch² the next in its Gemini series. Then someone had an idea: why not
launch both Geminis. The second one could chase¹⁸ the first one, instead of a satellite. Again, things did not go as
planned.

VOICE 1:

It took two tries to launch the second Gemini. By that time, the first one had been in orbit about eleven days.
Time was running out. The astronauts on the second Gemini moved their spacecraft into higher orbits¹⁹. They got
closer and closer to the Gemini ahead of them. They needed to get within six-hundred meters to be considered
successful.

After all the problems on the ground, the events in space went smoothly²⁰. The two spacecraft got within one-third
of a meter of each other. The astronauts had made the operation seem easy.

VOICE 2:

In January, nineteen-fifty-nine, the Soviets launched a series of unmanned Luna rockets. The third of these flights
took pictures of the far side of the moon. This was the side no one on Earth had ever seen. The United States
planned to explore the moon with its unmanned Ranger²¹ spacecraft.

There were a number of failures before Ranger Seven took pictures of the moon. These pictures were made from


a distance. The world did not get pictures from the surface of the moon until the Soviet Luna nine landed there in
February, nineteen-sixty-six.

VOICE 1:
For the next few years, both the United States and Soviet Union continued their exploration of the moon. Yet the
question remained: which one would be the first to put a man there. In December, nineteen-sixty-eight, the
United States launched Apollo eight with three astronauts. The flight proved that a spacecraft could orbit the
moon and return to Earth safely.

VOICE 2:
The Apollo nine spacecraft had two vehicles. One was the command module²². It could orbit the moon, but could
not land on it. The other was the Lunar module. On a flight to the moon, it would separate from the command

module and land on the moon's surface. Apollo ten astronauts unlinked the Lunar module and flew it close to the
moon's surface.
VOICE 1:
After those flights, everything was ready. On July sixteenth, nineteen -sixty-nine, three American astronauts lifted

off in Apollo eleven. On the twentieth, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin entered the Lunar module, called the

Eagle. Michael Collins remained in the command module, the Columbia.
The two vehicles separated. It was a dangerous time. The Eagle could crash. Or it could fall over after it landed.
That meant the astronauts would die on the moon.

VOICE 2:
Millions of people watched on television or listened on the radio. They waited for Armstrong's message: "The

Eagle has landed. " Then they waited again. It took the astronauts more than three hours to complete the
preparations needed to leave the Lunar module.
Finally, the door opened. Neil Armstrong climbed down first. He put one foot on the moon. Then the other foot.

And then came his words, from so far away:
((TAPE: “That's one small step for man … one giant leap for mankind.")
)
That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.
VOICE 1:
Armstrong walked around. Soon, Aldrin joined him. The two men placed an American flag on the surface of the

moon. They also collected moon rocks and soil.

When it was time to leave, they returned to the Eagle and guided it safely away. They reunited with the Columbia
and headed for home. The United States had won the race to the moon.
(Theme)
VOICE 2:
This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson.

This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
VOICE 1:
And this is Phil Murray. Join us again next week for another v-o-a Special English program about the history of

the United States.


Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

3 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

4 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。

5 artificial   

adj.人工的，人造的，人为的；做作的，假装的

参考例句：

• The new dam will form a large artificial lake behind it.新筑的水坝将会在后面形成一个人工湖。
• We don't use any artificial flavourings in our products.我们的产品不使用任何人工调味剂。

6 propaganda   

n.宣传，宣传机构

参考例句：

• A lot of propaganda has painted him as bad.大量宣传把他说得很坏。
• Art may be used as a vehicle for propaganda.艺术可以用作为宣传的媒介。

7 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星

10 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

11 orbited   

在…轨道上运行，环绕轨道运行( orbit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A plane orbited over the landing field. 有一架飞机在机场上空盘旋。
• How many spacecraft have orbited the moon? 有多少艘太空船已经绕月球轨道运行过？

12 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

13 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

14 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

15 dock   

n.码头；被告席；vt.使(船)进港；扣；vi.进港

参考例句：

• We took the children to the dock to see the ships.我们带孩子们到码头去看轮船。
• The corrupt official stood in the dock.那贪官站在被告席上。

16 docking   

n.扣工资

参考例句：

• The tug eased into the narrow docking space. 拖船小心地驶入狭窄的码头停泊处。
• Rendezvous and docking stood fourth in the list of objectives. 第四个目标是实现飞船的会合与对接。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

17 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

18 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

19 orbits   

轨道( orbit的名词复数 )； 势力范围

参考例句：

• The man-made satellite orbits the earth every 48 hours. 那颗人造卫星每48小时绕地球轨道运行一周。
• The earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days. 地球每365.25天绕太阳轨道一圈。

20 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

21 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

22 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。