Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils undergo a wider depth study which tells a story about a period that shaped the world we live in today: the Cold War. They look at the key events, developments, people and stories that defined the international relations in this Cold War period.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to analyse the events of the Space Race.

Key Notes

• The Space Race was a competition between the US and USSR in the 1950s and 1960s.
• Security and prestige both motivated the Space Race.
• The USSR launched the first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957.
• Soviet successes in space triggered fears that the US was falling behind.
• US astronauts landed on the moon in 1969.

Vocabulary To Learn

• satellite: in this context, an object that moves around a planet in space
• orbit: the circular journey that a spacecraft or planet makes around the sun, the moon, or another planet
• prestige: respect and admiration people feel for someone else, often because they are successful
• ICBM: short for inter-continental ballistic missile; a missile that can deliver bombs to hit targets over 5500 km away

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• The USA was in the lead throughout the Space Race.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis Study Guide
• Consequences of the Korean War Study Guide
• Construction of the Berlin Wall Study Guide
• Détente and SALT 1 Study Guide
• Early causes of tension between the USA and the USSR Study Guide
• Hungary and Soviet power in Eastern Europe Study Guide
• Initial stages of the Cuban Missile Crisis Study Guide
• International responses to the Prague Spring Study Guide
• Khrushchev and peaceful coexistence Study Guide
• NATO and the Warsaw Pact Study Guide
• Outbreak of the Korean War Study Guide
• Soviet influence over Eastern Europe Study Guide
• Tensions between the superpowers by the late-1960s Study Guide
• The 'loss' of China and the Cold War Study Guide
• The 13 Days of the Cuban Missile Crisis Study Guide
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion Study Guide
• The Berlin Crisis, 1948-9 Study Guide
• The Brezhnev Doctrine Study Guide
• The collapse of French Indochina Study Guide
• The Cuban Revolution and its consequences Study Guide
• The growth of communism in China Study Guide
• The impact of the atomic bomb Study Guide
• The nuclear arms race Study Guide
• The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58 Study Guide
• The Prague Spring Study Guide
• The reasons for Détente Study Guide
• The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan Study Guide
• The U2 Crisis Study Guide
• US involvement in the Vietnam War Study Guide