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An astronaut on the Moon standing next to the American flag
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How the Cold War Arms Race Fueled a Sprint to the Moon

After the Soviet Union sent the first human safely into orbit, the U.S. government doubled down on its effort to win the race to the moon.
Ed Dwight Jr. with model rocket.

I Was Poised to be the First Black Astronaut. I Never Made it to Space.

Ed Dwight Jr. trained to go to the moon, but racism in the selection process kept him out of space.
Valentina Tereshkova in space, painted

Valentina Tereshkova and the American Imagination

Remembering the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and how she challenged American stereotypes.
An illustration of a kid imagining going to space.

Selling the American Space Dream

The cosmic delusions of Elon Musk and Wernher von Braun.

Whose Apollo Are We Talking About?

A review of Roger D. Launius's "Apollo’s Legacy" and Teasel E. Muir-Harmony's "Apollo to the Moon."
Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface with flag during Apollo 11.

How Stanley Kubrick Staged the Moon Landing

To understand America, you can start with Apollo 11 and all that is counterfactual that’s grown around it.

What John F. Kennedy’s Moon Speech Means 50 Years Later

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on moon with American flag.

Should the Moon Landing Site Be a National Historic Landmark?

Some archaeologists argue it’s essential to preserve the history of lunar exploration. But would it represent a claim of U.S. sovereignty over the moon?

The Rocket Scientist Who Had to Elude the FBI Before He Could Escape Earth

Frank Malina's Scientific Dreams Were as Radical as His Politics.
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How NASA Sold The Science And Glamour of Space Travel

At the time of the Apollo 11 landing, some Americans had reservations about reaching for the stars when troubles swelled on Earth.
"Trip to the Moon" map, depicting a collage of the Moon, spacecraft, astronauts, and other space-related imagery.

During the Space Race, Gas Stations Gave Away Free Maps to the Moon

Standard Oil was not about to be left earthbound.

The Triumph and Near-Tragedy of the First Moon Landing

Across the cislunar blackness, we set sail for a landing that almost didn't happen.
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When Science Was Big

This year's Nobel Prize in physics is a blast from the past of Cold War-era research investment. Is that era gone for good?

Sputnik Launch 60 Years Ago Was Slow to Resonate With Americans

The 1957 launch of Sputnik wasn’t necessarily the start of the US-Soviet space race that Americans think of today.

Trying to Remember J.F.K.

On the centenary of his birth, seeking the man behind the myth.

Christmas in the Space Age: Looking Back at the Wild Designs of Mid-20th-Century Holidays

There are two critical periods for Christmas. One is the Victorian era. The other is the 1960s.
NASA's administrator shows a model of the space shuttle to President Jimmy Carter.

What Spaceflight Owes to Jimmy Carter: The President's Little-Known NASA Legacy

Jimmy Carter, skeptical of NASA's shuttle, saved it with funding despite delays and opposition. His Voyager message carries hope deep into space.
Buzz Aldrin lands on moon for the first time, Apollo 11.

Apollo 11 Launch: "If You Can Survive the Simulations, the Mission is a Piece of Cake"

The grueling, relentless simulations astronauts that prepared the astronauts for quick decision-making in space.
A magnifying glass sitting on top of "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas S. Kuhn.

What Was the “Paradigm Shift”?

When Thomas Kuhn coined the term, he wasn’t referring simply to “out of the box” thinking.
A kindergarten teacher coaches a group of crouched children to duck and cover in a national air raid drill, Chicago, 1954.
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The Politics of Fear Is Damaging American Education—And Has Been for Decades

Politicians have often sought to remedy educational panic with remedies that do more harm than good.
A balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on Feb. 4, shortly before it was shot down.
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Panic Over Spy Balloon Echoes Misguided Alarm Over Sputnik

In this case, freaking out makes even less sense because spy balloons are historically a sign of weakness.
Black-and-white photograph of President Dwight Eisenhower smiling at camera from his desk

The Effective Conservative Governance of Ike Eisenhower

The conservative successes of the Eisenhower administration have been too quickly forgotten.
Magazine advertisement for United States Steel, highlighting a kitchen countertop, lawn furniture and playground equipment, and a suspension bridge.

Making Steel All Shiny and New

When it seemed that steel had lost its gleam with American consumers, the industry turned to marketing to make it shine again.
Visitors sit next to displays of missiles and a sea defense weapon system at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, on Sept. 29
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Fear About China’s New Space Weapon Echoes Older Worries About War From Space

And that’s exactly why there is no need to overreact.
A parade of people carrying American flags and Nazi Germany flags, black and white, New York 1937.

Operation Paperclip and Nazis in America

The two decades leading up to WWII featured numerous connections between America and Nazi Germany that reveal Nazism was never simply a foreign or enemy force.
Galaxy in space.

Sanctuary or Battlefield?

Fighting for the soul of American space policy.

Ike's Military-Industrial Complex, Six Decades Later

As Eisenhower predicted, there is no balance left, as U.S. policy is reduced to who we threaten, bomb, or occupy next.
A UFO in front of hills

More UFOs Than Ever Before

What explains the apparently sudden spike in intergalactic traffic after WWII? If Cold War anxieties are to blame, why have sightings persisted?

Inventing the Environment

A review of two new books on the postwar origins of “the Environment.”
Poppy Northcutt.

Inside Apollo Mission Control, From the Eyes of the First Woman on the Job

Poppy Northcutt planned the vital flight trajectories that got astronauts home from their missions to the moon.

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