This course chronicles the “Space Race” between the United States and the Soviet Union, examining how competition in rocket technology — initially driven by ballistic missile development — shifted toward the launch of artificial satellites and the exploration of space. We'll trace this evolution from early unmanned missions through the race for human spaceflight, culminating in the achievement of a manned lunar landing.

Faculty Bio

Bebo White is retired from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the U.S. National Laboratory at Stanford University where he worked as a computational physicist. He currently holds faculty appointments at multiple academic institutions.

This is a Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time
• Classes will also be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Thursday, Sept. 17, and ends on Thursday, Oct. 22
• Classes meet for 6 weeks, 1.5 hours per session (1:30–3 PM)
• All course materials will remain in Member Dashboards through Dec. 31

Faculty Q&A

• Read an interview with Bebo White from our archive.