What comes to the minds of everyone when the word ‘war’ is mentioned? Torn countries divided by borders, missiles and guns, and a large number of people displaced from their homes. It definitely is not a pretty site and one would sit down to wonder, why let wars happen? Why can everyone not live together in harmony and peace? And, most of all what good can come as a result of all the bloodshed and chaos?
I for one am no advocate for war, and the mere mention of war waiting to happen annoys and disturbs me. But, what if I told you that some time back there was a war which helped not only mankind but Science and technology? I’m pretty sure most of you must be at loggerheads in trying to process this bit of information. How on earth can war be beneficial for anyone let alone science? Well, sit back and walk through the chapters of history to find out just how!
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“Who knew that in the face of adversity and war, there would be something positive for everybody worth waiting for?” – Expert at GoAssignmentHelp.
This event unfolds after one of the deadliest wars ended. As the whole world saw the end of World War II, 2 countries in their race to become a military superpower engaged in a competition to see who had better space technology. Russia and U.S.A battled with each other in a Cold War, during which the world saw some of the best inventions and innovations. This Cold War was the beginning of the Space Race which began somewhere in 1955. The only aim of these two countries was to supersede the other when it came to aerospace capabilities, artificial satellites and human spaceflights.
The Soviet Union was the first to launch the world’s first artificial satellite ‘Sputnik’. Did you know that one of the greatest results of this Space Race was the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the year 1958! So, the Cold War which started off as a means to show who was more superior soon ended up by changing the face of technology. In this fight to be the first, plenty of firsts were given to the world.
- The launch of the first intercontinental ballistic missile in 1957
- The first artificial satellite Sputnik in 1957
- The first dog Laika sent to the orbit via Sputnik in 1957
Along with having a reasonable effect on the space research, this evident Space Race even brought to the forefront a lot of advancement in the field of technology. Why don’t we take a look at some of these inventions that are being used till date and for which we have to thank the inevitable Space Race?
THOSE MEMORABLE MEMORY FOAM MATTRESSES: All those people who enjoy the soft and cushy feel of the memory mattresses have to thank the Space Race for this invention. Believe it or not, the foam for the mattresses were first innovated and designed by NASA to make comfortable seats for the astronauts for their space odysseys. Memory foam is a material which recognizes and remembers the shape of a person, thus giving them comfortable seating, or in our case now sleeping patterns. It was only in the year 1980 when NASA released the design for the public after which they can be found in most of our mattresses and inner lining material in most of our sports safety gears.
VACUUM CLEANERS CAN THANK THE SPACE VACUUM: While growing up if your mother woke you up with the blazing sounds of a vacuum cleaner, well you can thank or blame the Space Race for this as well. Also known as a ‘Dustbuster’ the smaller versions of the vacuum cleaners were originally developed by NASA as a part of their polar space mission. Inspired by the technology and functioning of the device, Black and Decker approached the team to get a better understanding. After a series of tests and experiments, finally, in 1979, the first ‘Dustbuster’ commercial machine was launched. And, ever since then cleaning became a luxury!
CAMPING BLANKETS WERE ACTUALLY SPACE BLANKETS: Our common light-weighted yet very useful common garden and camping blanket is also a derivation of the space blankets used in space. What makes these blankets so efficient and useful is that they are pretty light and are not as bulky as the normal blankets used. What’s more, they also reduce heat loss and thus keep you nice and warm. So, make sure you have them handy when out on your next camping or mountaineering trip.
HEALTHY EATING THE HACCP WAY: For those of you, who are fast food junkies and love eating food, may have come across the term Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) while visiting your favorite food establishments. At the time when it was introduced, it was only for NASA. When sending astronauts to outer space it became very difficult to provide them with food which would not get spoiled and could be used for a longer time. At that time NASA got in touch with leading food manufacturers Pillsbury to come up with a method of controlling the food contamination because of bacterial infection. Later they went on to replicate the same concept on food for the general masses and today most of the food establishments work on the same concept.
Internet of Things HAS TO THANK SPACE ODYSSEY: The whole world today is shrinking thanks to the usage of the internet. But, did you know that initially the Embedded Web Technology was developed by NASA to allow astronauts to monitor their experiments while in space remotely over the internet? Much later NASA released the technology to the public domain, after which companies modified it for more general use. This technology enables a person to control and manage devices by the control over the internet. So, most of your smart gadgets such as thermostats, smart light bulbs exist because of this NASA space age technology.
There is a massive list that can be mentioned here, and believe me after that there will still not be enough space left! Such was the boom that was seen during the Space Race which lasted for 20 years. The important thing to remember however is that how something as adverse as a war leads to 2 biggest countries engaging in a race to prove themselves more advanced. And, the effect of this race was the benefits that we still enjoy till date. This is how drastically the Space Race changed the world globally!
Author Bio:
Kristy is a content marketing professional at GoAssignmentHelp, a company which works to provide Assignment Writing Service and Online Essay Help. She is a champion of writing articles on, how could develop your business. Her articles concentrate on instructive substance in regard to the development of business by giving an engaging read.
