Space Programs in 1960's

In the 1960's many thought that the US was far behind the Soviet Union in terms of space innovations, but actually we were not that far behind. Spy satellites already existed around our globe. This information was not released to the public giving everyone a sense of lagging. Kennedy, wanting to keep up, decided that on May 5th he would send Alan Shepard to be the first American in space followed by John Glenn who was the first to orbit the globe in 1962. The space race between the Soviet Union and America became a vital competition for Kennedy and those who would follow. Kennedy began to search for advisors to come up with space programs to further research. The soviet presisted to fight and continued to be one step ahead of the United States. As this occured NASA became close to establishing a system in which the orbiting ship could change its orbit midflight. This was something that the Soviet Union had not even thought about.
In 1967 both the Soviet Union and Americans emerged with progrmas to send humans to the moon. In 1967 the crew of the Apollo 1 was sent in what ended up being a fatal mission. Fire swept through the cabin sending out a mission that would not return. The soviets also suffered some losses with their first mission. Soyuz 1, likewise was plagued with malfunction creating an unsuccessful mission. In 1969 Kennedy launched apollo 11 with out disappointment. 4 days later Armsrtong and Allen landed on the moon. A success for the United States had been achieved and put us far ahead infront of the Soviet Union. This furthered not only space research but scientific advancements as well. It set the stage for continual space exploration for the future. In later year the United States would have explored other planets as well as further research on the moon.