Spacecraft in orbit (Sputnik) and a man in space (Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961). To employ space for military, particularly intelligence, purposes, the Soviets had beat the United States in the more visible achievements of placing a had attained a number of important firsts with regard to the secret efforts Involved spacecraft in lunar orbit as well as unmanned landings. effort that resulted in Armstrong's arrival on the lunar surface took place along with a competing Soviet program that "The gesture represented a wish for peace for all mankind," according to NASA. Kennedy told Congress on May 25,ġ961, that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to theĪpollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong left a small, gold replica of an olive branch on the moon in 1969. Armstrong's "one small step" was the result of a prolonged and intense campaign initiated when President John F. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, an event watched by a worldwide audience of approximately 600 million * * * * Soldiers, Spies, and the Moon By Jeffrey T. Several analyses of Soviet Luna missions, including Luna 9 - the first mission to result in a soft landing on the moon ( Document 6, Document 7, Document 8, Document 10, Document 16). theft and return of a Soviet space capsule during an exhibition tour ( Document 13).Ī 1965 estimate of Soviet intentions with regard to a manned moon landing ( Document 5). spy ships ( Document 15).Ĭollection of Soviet radar signals after they bounced off the moon - a technique known as Moon Bounce ELINT ( Document 11, Document 14). The use of the lunar surface to relay signals from Washington to Hawaii and from U.S. Intentions to land a man on the lunar surface.Īrmy and Air Force studies from 1959 - 1961 on the creation of a military lunar base, with possible uses as a surveillance platform (for targets onĮarth and space) and the Lunar Based Earth Bombardment System ( Document 1a, Document 1b, Document 3, Document 4).Ī study on the detonation of a nuclear device on or in the vicinity of the moon ( Document 2). intelligence analyses and estimates of Soviet missions and their Use of the moon to reflect signals for military or intelligence purposes, and U.S. military plans, including the possibility of conducting nuclear tests in space, the The documents focus on three topics - early U.S. and Soviet schemes, which are the subject of today's National Security Archive posting of previouslyĬlassified records. Even the Soviet government had publicized aspects of its own effort.īut there were also highly secret elements to the U.S. Resulted in that historic event - managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - had been a very public one ever since itsĪnnouncement by President John F. Washington, DC, J– Forty-five years ago, astronaut Neil Armstrong took his "one small step" for mankind, becoming the first person to set foot on the moon. (Photo courtesy of NASA, Lewis Research Center)
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