Who won the space race? - Jeff Steers

Ko je dobio svemirsku trku? - Džef Stirs (Jeff Steers)

Prevodilac: Jelena Jaranović Lektor: Tatjana Jevdjic

On October 4, 1957,

4. oktobra 1957.

the world watched in awe and fear

svet je sa divljenjem i strahom gledao

as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik,

kako je Sovjetski Savez lansirao Sputnjika,

the world's first man-made satellite,

prvi satelit koji je čovek napravio,

into space.

u svemir.

This little metal ball,

Ova mala metalna lopta,

smaller than two feet in diameter,

prečnika oko pola metra,

launched a space race

započela je svemirsku trku

between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.

između SAD-a i SSSR-a,

that would last for eighteen years

koja će trajati 18 godina

and change the world as we know it.

i promeniti tadašnji svet.

Sputnik was actually not the first piece

Zapravo, Sputnjik nije bio prvi objekat

of human technology to enter space.

koju su ljudi napravili i poslali u svemir.

That superlative goes to the V-2 rocket

Ta počast pripada V-2 raketama

used by Germany in missile attacks

koje su koristili Nemci u raketnim napadima

against Allied cities as a last-ditch effort

protiv Saveznika, kao krajnju meru

in the final years of World War II.

u poslednjim godinama Drugog svetskog rata.

It wasn't very effective,

To baš nije bilo efikasno,

but, at the end of the war,

ali su, na kraju rata,

both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. had captured

i SAD i SSSR zaplenili

the technology and the scientists that had developed it

tu tehnologiju i naučnike koji su je razvijali

and began using them for their own projects.

i počeli da ih koriste za svoje projekte.

And by August 1957,

Do avgusta 1957.

the Soviet's successfully tested

Sovjeti su uspešno testirali

the first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7,

prvu međukontinentalnu bojnu raketu R-7,

the same rocket that would be used

koja je 2 meseca kasnije iskorišćena

to launch Sputnik two months later.

da lansira Sputnjik u svemir.

So, the scary thing about Sputnik

Zastrašujuća stvar u vezi sa Sputnjikom

was not the orbiting ball itself,

nije bilo njegovo kruženje,

but the fact that the same technology

već činjenica da je ta ista tehnologija

could be used to launch a nuclear warhead at any city.

mogla biti upotrebljena za lansiranje nuklerane bojeve glave na bilo koji grad.

Not wanting to fall too far behind,

Ne želeći da previše zaostane,

President Eisenhower ordered the Navy

predsednik Ajzenhauer je naredio Mornarici

to speed up its own project

da ubrza svoj projekat

and launch a satellite as soon as possible.

i lansira satelit što je brže moguće.

So, on December 6, 1957,

I, 6. decembra 1957.

excited people across the nation

širom Amerike ljudi su se uzbuđeno spremali

tuned in to watch the live broadcast

da uživo gledaju prenos

as the Vanguard TV3 satellite took off

satelita Vangard TV3 koji uzleće

and crashed to the ground two seconds later.

i pada na zemlju 2 sekunde kasnije.

The Vanguard failure was a huge embarassment

Neuspeh sa Vangardom je bio velika sramota

for the United States.

za Ameriku.

Newspapers printed headlines like,

U novinama su izlazili naslovi poput:

"Flopnik" and "Kaputnik."

"Flopnik" i "Kaputnjik" ("Padalica").

And a Soviet delegate at the U.N. mockingly suggested

Sovjetski izaslanik u UN-u je podrugljivo rekao

that the U.S. should receive foreign aid

da bi SAD trebalo da dobija stranu pomoć

for developing nations.

zemalja u razvoju.

Fortunately, the Army had been working

Na sreću, Vojska je paralelno radila

on their own parallel project, The Explorer,

na svom projektu, na Eksploreru,

which was successfully launched in January 1958,

koji je uspešno lansiran u januaru 1958.

but the U.S. had barely managed to catch up

Ali Amerika je jedva uspela da uhvati korak

before they were surpassed again

pre nego što su ih Sovjeti ponovo prestigli,

as Yuri Gargarin became the first man in space

jer je Jurij Gagarin postao prvi čovek u svemiru,

in April 1961.

u aprilu 1961.

Almost a year passed

Prošla je skoro godina

and several more Soviet astronauts

i još nekoliko sovjetskih astronauta

completed their missions

je izvršilo svoje misije,

before Project Mercury succeeded

pre nego što je Projekat Merkur uspeo

in making John Glenn the first American

da pošalje Džona Glena, prvog Amerikanca

in orbit in February 1962.

u orbitu, u februaru 1962.

By this time, President Kennedy had realized

Do tada, predsednik Kenedi je shvatio

that simply catching up

da dostizanje

to each Soviet advance a few months later

svake Sovjetske prednosti nakon par meseci

wasn't going to cut it.

neće rešiti problem.

The U.S. had to do something first,

SAD su morale da urade nešto prve

and in May 1961, a month after Gargarin's flight,

i u maju 1961., mesec dana nakon Gagarinovog leta,

he announced the goal

Kenedi je objavio cilj:

of putting a man on the moon

spustiti čoveka na mesec

by the end of the 1960s.

do kraja '60-ih.

They succeeded in this through the Apollo program

Uspeli su u ovome kroz Apolo program

with Neil Armstrong taking his famous step

sa Nilom Armstrongom koji je napravio slavni korak

on July 20, 1969.

20. jula 1969.

With both countries' next turning their attention

Obe zemlje su sada pažnju usmerile

to orbital space stations,

na orbitalne svemirske stanice

there's no telling how much longer

i postalo je nemoguće predvideti

the space race could have gone on.

trajanje svemirske trke.

But because of improving relations

Ali zbog poboljšanih odnosa

negotiated by Soviet Premier Leonid Breshnev

nastalih zalaganjem sovjetskog premijera Brežnjeva

and U.S. President Nixon,

i američkog predsednika Niksona,

the U.S.S.R. and U.S. moved toward cooperation

SSSR i SAD su se usmerile više na saradnju

rather than competition.

nego na takmičenje.

The successful joint mission,

Uspešna zajednička misija,

known as Apollo-Soyuz,

poznata kao Apolo-Sojuz,

in which an American Apollo spacecraft

u kojoj se američki svemirski brod Apolo

docked with a Soviet Soyuz craft

spojio sa sovjetskim brodom Sojuzom

and the two crews met,

i dve posade se srele,

shook hands,

rukovale,

and exchanged gifts,

i razmenile poklone,

marked the end of the space race in 1975.

označila je kraj svemirske trke u 1975.

So, in the end, what was the point

Naposletku, šta je bila suština

of this whole space race?

cele ove svemirske trke?

Was it just a massive waste of time?

Da li je to bilo ogromno gubljenje vremena?

Two major superpowers trying to outdo each other

Dve najveće super-sile pokušavaju da nadmaše jedna drugu

by pursuing symbolic projects

praveći simbolične projekte

that were both dangerous and expensive,

koji su istovremeno opasni i skupi,

using resources that could have been

koristeći resurse koji su mogli

better spent elsewhere?

bolje da se iskoriste negde drugde?

Well, sure, sort of,

Pa, naravno, na neki način,

but the biggest benefits of the space program

ali najveća korist od svemirskog programa

had nothing to do with one country beating another.

nema nikakve veze sa tim koja bi zemlja pobedila.

During the space race,

Tokom svemirske trke,

funding for research and education, in general,

budžet za istraživanje i obrazovanje,

increased dramatically,

dramatično je porastao,

leading to many advances

dovodeći do mnogih uspeha

that may not have otherwise been made.

kojih drugačije možda ne bi ni bilo.

Many NASA technologies developed for space

Mnoge tehnologije koje je NASA stvorila za svemir

are now widely used in civilian life,

sada su u širokoj upotrebi u svakodnevnom životu,

from memory foam in mattresses

od memorijske pene u dušecima

to freeze-dried food,

preko zamrznute hrane,

to LEDs in cancer treatment.

do upotrebe LED svetala u lečenju raka.

And, of course, the satellites that we rely on

I naravno, sateliti na koje se oslanjamo

for our GPS and mobile phone signals

za navigaciju i signale za mobilne telefone

would not have been there

ne bi ni postojali

without the space program.

bez svemirskog programa.

All of which goes to show

Sve ovo pokazuje

that the rewards of scientific research and advancement

da je dobrobit naučnog istraživanja i napretka

are often far more vast

često mnogo veća čak i od onoga

than even the people pursuing them can imagine.

što mogu da zamisle ljudi koji na tome rade.