space race(tension#5)

In October, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite named Sputnik to be hurled into orbit around the Earth. Sputnik was actually no larger than a beach ball and sent meaningless signals back to earth, but it had a profound effect on the thinking of citizens and governments around the globe. It was a shiny steel sphere about 23 inches across with four antennas trailing behind it. Russian engineers wanted to make sure that people around the globe could both see and hear it. Sputnik was polished so it would reflect light that could be seen with your eyes even from 175 miles up in the sky.

arms race(tension#4)

The nuclear arms race was central to the cold war. Many feared where the Cold War was going with the belief that the more nuclear weapons you had, the more powerful you were. Both america and russia massively built up their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
The world greatly changed when USA exploded the H-bomb in 1952. This one bomb was smaller in size than the Hiroshima atomic bomb but 2500 times more powerful. The Russians produced an H-bomb in 1953 and the world became a much more dangerous place.
However, it is possible that the sheer power of these weapons and the fear that they evoked, may have stopped a nuclear war.

cuban missle crisis(tension#3)

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. Luckily, thanks to the bravery of one man, president John F. Kennedy , war was stopped.

U-2(tension#2)

Shot down by a Soviet surface to air missile on the morning of May 1, 1960, CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers had been on a top secret mission: to over fly and photograph denied territory from his U2 spy plane deep inside Russia. His fate and that of the entire U2 program remained a mystery for days.

tension #1

Further Cold War tensions erupted in Korea during the early 1950's. There may have been less open confrontation on behalf of both sides in the Cold War from this point on, but the tensions between East and West were a long way. Though the end of the Cold War seems to have reduced international tensions on one level, technology and competition will certainly assure that international.