Superpower America

We Americans often take our leadership position in the world for granted. We like to believe ourselves uniquely blessed by the wisdom and determination of our founding fathers, seemingly unmatched for pluck and vision. 

Yet, when Europeans established the first settlements in America, the entire continent was an empty wilderness (except for Indians). There were no roads, stores or houses. For almost 200 years, there were no banks.

Given this primitive start, one might wonder how it's possible that America surpassed all the great nations of Europe, within just another 200 years. The story that follows may surprise you.
USA on the moon, 1972

  On the Moon
America landed men on the moon more than 50 years ago, and then did it five more times during the next three years.  Since then, no other country has managed this feat even once. Technology is the key.

  ↓ Scroll down, then click the 'NEXT' arrow (in the center of the Navigation Bar, at the top of the screen) or a similar arrow, further below.

Space Shuttle Program, 1977-2011

  First Space Taxi
The Space Shuttle is the world's first reusable space vehicle. There were actually five nearly identical Shuttle Orbiters, which together completed 134 successful launches and recoveries, beginning in 1982. Missions continued until the last shuttle was finally retired in 2011, with only a single failure (the Challenger). No other nation has developed anything similar.


Planet Earth

  Earth from 10,000 Miles Up
This spectacular photo was taken back in 1967 by the unmanned Apollo 4, which carried an automated 70mm film camera capturing hundreds of amazing photos of Earth. We can thank NASA for photos like this (not Russia, China or anyone else).