space race

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, began in 1958. With its creation, the United States hoped to ensure it won the space race against the Soviet Union . . . describes the origins of NASA, the launching of the Apollo program that landed the first human on the moon, and the many missions and discoveries that have taken place since then. NASA has a rich history and still plays an important role in uncovering the mysteries of the universe"--Provided by publisher.

Explores the history of the race to the moon, including history about the satellites, the spaceships, and the astronauts, and facts about living in a spaceship.

In 1968, America was desperate to catch up to the Soviets in the Space Race. NASA's answer: the groundbreaking Apollo 8 Mission.

Astronauts and cosmonauts were the heroes of a 20th Century battle without weapons--the race for global dominance in space.  The Space Race explores how the quest to put "a man on the moon" fueled fast-paced scientific research and kept the world occupied with more peaceful pursuits at a time when the world seemed to be on the edge of nuclear annihilation. Readers will learn how to examine primary and secondary source materials, which reveal the political and scientific implications of the space programs in the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Explores the true story of the group of African American female mathematicians recruited by the U.S. government during World War II to fill labor shortages and work at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Their jobs involved being "human computers," using pencils, slide rulers, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would allow rockets and astronauts to be launched out of the atmosphere.

Before John Glenn orbited Earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as 'human computers' used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation.

"Ben Thompson and Erik Slader take readers through the numerous failures that comprised the Space Race, paving the way for humanity's eventual success at reaching the stars"--Publisher.

"Today, everyone is familiar with Neil Armstrong's famous words as he first set foot on the moon: 'one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.' He made it look easy, but America's journey to the moon was anything but simple. In 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite, into orbit, America had barely crossed the starting line of the great Space Race. Later that year, our first attempt was such a failure that the media nicknamed it 'Kaputnik.' Still, we didn't give up. With each failure, we gleaned valuable information about what went wrong, and how to avoid it in the future. So we tried again. And again. And each time we failed, we failed a little bit better"--Amazon.com.