“Neil’s voice was calm, confident and clear. “Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed”’ (Shepherd and Slayton 27). These are the words spoken by Neil Armstrong when he successfully landed the lunar module on the dusty ground of the Moon. The mission was complete and the race was over. America had finally managed to land on the Moon. It took NASA's space program nearly twelve years to beat the Russians to the Moon (27). These twelve years were filled with successes and failures, but it was through hard work that NASA engineers and scientists were able to successfully complete the mission to the Moon. Most people don't know the full history of the space race, or even why it happened. happened in the first place. According to Shepherd and Slayton, the space race between the Americans and the Soviet Union began approximately five years after the events of World War II (Shepherd and Slayton 30). America hired German scientists because they knew the Germans had experience with missiles and nuclear warheads. The Germans had already revealed that they were developing deadly missiles and did not want to get involved with the Russians. So they decided to work with the Americans in the hope that their dreams of space exploration would come true (31-33). The first space race rockets were developed and built at a US arsenal located in Alabama. They were known as Redstone missiles (33). While the Redstone missiles were a success, the Soviet Union was working on its own rockets and missiles. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched its own rocket into space. It carried a small satellite known as Sputnik (39). With the announcement of the Soviet Union's success, America knew it had to go further into space than the S...... middle of paper ...... all it created can be attributed to the space race, which led to advances in rocket design. Works Cited Bilstein, Roger E. Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. Washington: Directorate of Scientific and Technical Information, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1980. Print. Brooks, Courtney G., James M. Grimwood, and Loyd S. Swenson. Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft. Washington, DC: Directorate of Scientific and Technical Information, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1979. Print. Shepard, Alan B. and Donald K. Slayton. Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon. Atlanta: Turner Pub., 1994. PrintWilliams, Dr. David R. “The Tragedy of Apollo 1.” Apollo 1. NASA, nd Web. November 10. 2013. .