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

4.
Sent the first woman astronaut into space
5.
In 1968 a robotic probe took pictures of the moon, but crashed when it returned
6.
The first manned orbit of Earth
Soviet Union Space Program
Achievements 
Failures

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T 
he Soviet and American space programs were very different. In the 
United States, a government agency called the National Advisory 
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) had existed since 1915. This agency 
was involved with the development of flight in the US. In 1958, the name was 
changed to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA was 
a government agency, but it did not depend completely on government support. 
The American space program was only about 50 percent military. It was 
operated primarily by civilians. 
The Soviet military was strongly involved with the 
space program. About 95 percent of the program was 
related to the military in some way. Many of the Soviet 
space projects tested military applications. Also, the 
technical operations, like launching and mission control, 
were handled by the military.
One of the biggest differences between the Soviet 
and American space efforts was how each was presented to the media. The 
Soviet space program was very secret. The Soviet government only publicized its 
program’s successes. For example, in 1960, a rocket exploded on its launch pad, 
killing one hundred people, but this was not revealed until much later. Even the 
name of the “Grand Designer,” Sergei P. Korolev, was not announced until he 
died in 1966. However, almost all of NASA’s actions were reported not just to 
Americans but to the whole world. NASA’s failures were just as clear as its 
successes.