Many of us remember the excitement of the Space Race in the 1960s, as Americans and Soviets competed to put the first humans in space. The events were not simply reports in our school textbooks and newspapers, but were the focus of our imagination and the center of our recreational activities. We played with space-themed toys, built model rockets, and gathered around the family TV for every rocket launch and mission. We witnessed and participated in the greatest adventure in human history as it happened. I would like to transport you to those amazing times when all of us wanted to be astronauts because everything seemed possible.
Table of Contents
- 1 1. Watching John Glenn’s Historic Orbit
- 2 2. Tang in Every Kitchen
- 3 3. Space Food Sticks
- 4 4. Building Model Rockets
- 5 5. The Weekly Reader Space Updates
- 6 6. Major Matt Mason Action Figures
- 7 7. Space-Themed Lunch Boxes
- 8 8. The Race to the Moon
- 9 9. Space Age Architecture
- 10 10. The First Moon Landing
- 11 11. Space Ice Cream
- 12 12. Space-Themed TV Shows
- 13 13. Astronaut Career Dreams
1. Watching John Glenn’s Historic Orbit
The entire nation of America came to a stop and held its breath on February 20, 1962. Schools even rolled TV sets in every classroom because they wanted the students to watch history being made live at the moment. It was put on the TV when John Glenn became the very first American to complete a full orbit around the planet Earth. He flew into space, then returned back to Earth. The entire nation was unified during the live space mission. Everyone listened on the radio to mission control updates. Everyone expressed a relief that he successfully returned back to Earth.
Save for later
Want to come back to this story? Save it with your email so it is easy to find again.
2. Tang in Every Kitchen
Reaching for a carton of Tang in our home pantry became routine because every kid wanted to drink it to feel connected to the space program. Tang was a breakfast staple, not because it tasted great (it didn’t), but because parents indulged us and they were grateful that at least we were getting vitamin C with our astronaut fantasies. The chewy, chocolate-flavored snacks were used to market the same food technology that NASA astronauts used. We begged our mothers to buy them, because we were convinced they would give us the same energy as the space travelers we admired.
3. Space Food Sticks
Shops that sold hobby supplies almost always had a section for model rockets. It was a rite of passage for many kids to build rockets and fire them into the sky. I remember the many afternoons that I painted and built a scale model of the Saturn V rocket or the Atlas rocket. Launching the rockets was a neighborhood event. People would gather to watch a cardboard rocket blast off into space. Sometimes they would even get stuck in the trees.
4. Building Model Rockets
Every Friday the school newspaper gave us the latest news for the US space program. We all loved reading the current events articles about the astronauts and rockets. These articles highlighted the important scientific ideas of the space race to children and inspired us to want to learn more and more about the space race.
5. The Weekly Reader Space Updates
Before Star Wars figures overwhelmed the toy aisles, we got Major Matt Mason.
6. Major Matt Mason Action Figures
His crew and him, with their realistic space outfit and flexible wire body, helped us in our rooms and backyards create innumerable acts of the lunar missions.
7. Space-Themed Lunch Boxes
In school, we had to have a metal lunch box with astronauts, rockets, or space pictures. These cool lunch boxes and their matching thermoses with space art made our regular lunch feel like we were leaving for a mission to space.
8. The Race to the Moon
Every Apollo mission was a big event. For every step we took to the moon, we tracked the progress on the bulletin boards at school, we collected newspaper articles, and we stayed up late to watch the important events. Because of the race with the Soviets, every mission was even more exciting.
9. Space Age Architecture
The space age influenced many things like how cars and buildings were designed. Banks and gas stations changed their designs to look like space stations. Fly-through banks and stream lined furniture created a futuristic and modern feel.
10. The First Moon Landing
On July 20, 1969, we witnessed history. Families gathered around televisions to take pictures of the event. Armstrong stepping on the moon was a moment in time we will never forget.
11. Space Ice Cream
To be able to eat freeze-dried ice cream, you would have to visit a science museum or space center. Though the texture of the ice cream was chalky, it made people feel like they were training for space.
12. Space-Themed TV Shows
Many shows like start trek and lost in space revolutionized the way we viewed space travel, while some special effects look cheap now, at the time it inspired people and pioneers to push the limits of space travel as it combined scientific fact and entertainment.
13. Astronaut Career Dreams
When the question came up of what we wanted to be when we grew up, a common answer was astronaut. The space program also showed us that if we had enough determination, anything was possible.
