S e c o n d e d I t I o n 1 Reading for the Real World 1

modified
missiles at first. The US 
attempted to launch its first satellite in 1957, but the rocket 
exploded
. Then in 
1958, a satellite, Explorer 1, was successfully launched. On May 5, 1961, Alan 
Shepard became the first American in space. Twenty days later, President John 
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artificial --- not natural; man-made
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orbit --- a circular path in space around a planet
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modify --- to change
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explode --- to burst into pieces
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F. Kennedy gave a speech which set a specific goal for the American space 
program. This goal was for men to land on the moon before the end of the 
1960s. This goal became 
firmly established
when John Glenn orbited the 
Earth in 1962. At this time, the space race became a race to the moon.
In contrast to the United States, the Soviet moon program was secret. 
Its 
target date
for reaching the Moon was 1967 or 68. However, the Soviet 
program began to have problems. Early designs of the N-1, a more powerful 
rocket, failed frequently. Many exploded after launch. Then in 1966, Sergei P. 
Korolev died during a medical operation. This was a great loss, since few people 
could replace Korolev. Even so, the Soviets continued their efforts. In 1967, the 
astronaut Vladimir Komarov, testing a possible moon vehicle, died when his 
capsule
crashed. Two more rockets failed that year. The biggest shock of all
came in 1968, when Yuri Gagarin, the hero of the Soviet space program, died in 
a plane crash. The Soviets began 
to 
abandon
the idea of going to 
the moon. However, in 1968 a 
robotic probe circled the moon 
and took pictures of it. This 
would have been a bright 
moment, except that the probe 
crashed when it returned. In 
1969, two more N-1 rockets 
exploded. It became clear that 
the Soviet Union would not only 
fail to beat the United States but fail to reach the moon