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Sputnik Launched
Sputnik was the first artificial created by Russia and the first satellite launched into space. It marked the start of the space race and was a masterpiece in the space field. It had a diameter of 22 inches and weighed 184 pounds. It traveled around the Earth at 18,000 MPH and circled Earth once every 96 minutes. The radio waves it transmitted were so strong that they could be picked up by amateur radio operators.It scared the USA and was about 10 times the size of the first planned US satellite -
Fidel Castro assumes power of Cuba
The Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba with thousands of his supporters and Fidel Castro took over. People were anti-American because the rampant, corrupt, and brutal Batista was supported by the US government. The US government failed to find a middle ground between Barista and Castro so they paid the price and Fidel Castro took over the government. Cubans celebrated as Castro took over. -
Summit of Vienna
The Vienna Summit could've been a crucial moment for relations between the United States and Soviet Union. The summit was only six weeks after the Bay of Pigs and the discussions between Kennedy and Khrushchev got heated. Kennedy afterward said it was "the worst experience of my life" and that he was unprepared to meet and have discussions with the older, more experienced man. It was the first and only summit the USA had with the Soviets. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
Two days before the start of the construction for the Berlin Wall the Soviet Union sealed off the area where they would put it. A big reason for the building of the wall might have been Kennedy at the Summit of Vienna and his argument against Communism bringing light to the situation. Between 1949 and 1961 over 2.5 million East Germans fled to West Germany. Just before the wall was built there was an average of 2000 people crossing each day. At the end of construction the wall was 15 feet high. -
U-2 Plane discovered missile sites in Cuba and took photos
Start of the two week long Cuban Missile Crisis. U2 plane pictures offered undeniable evidence that the USSR had planted medium range missiles in Cuba 90 miles away from the US coastline. 2 days after the photos were taken and analyzed by intelligence officers they were shown the JFK. The soviets May have provided weapons to Cuba to balance the power since the US had missiles in Turkey and Italy. -
Gromyko and Kennedy meet
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and JFK met. Gromyko stayed that the Cuban missiles were purely defensive but JFK read his public warning of September 4 stating that the gravest consequence would follow if significant Soviet offensive weapons were placed in Cuba. The meeting was scheduled before the U2 plane had proof of missiles in Cuba so JFK had to make sure Gromyko didn’t know what he knew. -
JFK's televised speech announcing the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba
John F. Kennedy's nationally televised speech publicly told the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis 6 days after it started. He gave the people a lot of information to let them prepare for the worst. He announced where the missiles could hit and that the US might establish a blockade to stop anymore offensive weapons from entering Cuba. -
Military Forces go to DEF CON 2
DEF CON 2 was the was the highest level of military alert in the postwar era. It was also the closest to nuclear war the world has ever been. DEF CON stands for the defensive readiness condition and shows the state of the country and how close we are to war. It goes in descending order with DEF CON 5 being the least severe and DEF CON 1 being the most severe. -
American U-2 plane shot down over Cuba killed pilot
Rudolf Anderson Jr. flew his U2 plane over Cuba for Mission 3127. It was Anderson’s most dangerous mission yet with the Soviet surface to air missiles operational. He was in the air for over an hour when Grechko ordered they “Destroy Target Number 33.” President Kennedy suspected that Khrushchev did not authorize the attack and decided not to fire back and start war. -
Khrushchev announcement
Khrushchev announced over Radio Moscow his government's intent to dismantle and remove all Soviet Weapons in Cuba. This confirmed the Soviet Union's willingness to stop nuclear war and look for a solution to end the Cold War or at least the Cuban Missile Crisis. With this announcement Soviets started dismantling weapons in Cuba and the US kept up on there part.
