Writestream Radio Network

The 1960s race to the moon between the United States and Soviet Union was one of the most exciting and technologically stimulating events of the Cold War. But what very few people know, is that in the 1950s Pres. Dwight Eisenhower was running a similar race with the USSR, to gain control of the upper atmosphere and low Earth orbit in space as the new "high ground" for military and intelligence operations. Even before Ike became president in 1953, US military planners had been considering the potential uses of extremely high-altitude flight and Earth orbit, and had a surprisingly good set of ideas to work with. But Eisenhower, deeply concerned over the intelligence "black holes" behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains, needed certainty about the intentions of the Communist world to help the United States avoid a deeply costly strategic arms race during his tenure in the White House. What followed was one of the most impressive periods of technological development in the history of mankind, with Earth orbiting sate