The Space Race: Countdown to the Moon
From the shock of Sputnik to splashdown in the Pacific — the test stands, hometown heroes, and mission control voices that carried America to the Moon.
15 narrated stories — read them here, or hear them all in the app.
Sputnik IV Crash Site
When Space Landed in Downtown Manitowoc
A Soviet spacecraft fragment turned a city street into a Cold War landmark.
Rice University
The Day Houston Heard the Moonshot
How a stadium speech turned ambition into national policy.
St. Louis
How James S. McDonnell Lifted St. Louis Skyward
An engineer’s gamble helped make St. Louis an aviation and space city.
NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field
From Cleveland Runways to the Space Age
How a wartime engine lab became a powerhouse of flight and space research.
NASA Ames Research Center
Where Giant Wind Tunnels Shaped Flight
At Ames, engineering met reality at breathtaking scale.
Sacramento
Where Rancho Cordova Learned to Speak Rocket
A moonshot story rooted in test stands, workers, and a complicated legacy.
John C. Stennis Space Center
Where the Moon Rocket Shook the Pines
How Hancock County became a proving ground for Apollo.
New Mexico Museum of Space History
Where the Rockets End and Ham Is Remembered
At Alamogordo’s space museum, towering hardware gives way to one small grave.
Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum
From Sparta to Space
A hometown museum follows Deke Slayton from Wisconsin to the Mercury Seven.
Lawrence County
The Fifteen Minutes That Followed Gus Grissom Home
A brief flight, a sinking capsule, and a lasting argument.
Houston
The Man Who Made “Flight” Mean Go
How Christopher Kraft shaped mission control and its cool-headed voice.
Armstrong Air & Space Museum
From Wapakoneta to the Moon
A hometown museum traces Neil Armstrong’s path from local boy to lunar history.
Grant County
From Santa Rita to the Moon
A geologist from Grant County carried science onto the lunar surface.
Phoenix
Charles Duke’s Real Path to the Moon
A small myth gives way to the documented route of an Apollo moonwalker.
USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum
From Battle Stars to Moon Splashdowns
A carrier’s long journey from Pacific war to Apollo recovery and museum life in Alameda.
Hear every The Space Race: Countdown to the Moon story, hands-free.
TourPods narrates the hidden history, true crime, and local lore of wherever you're standing. Your first 20 stories are free — no credit card required.
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