After World War II, the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union developed a long period of tension and rivalry, commonly referred to as the “Cold War.” In our history lesson we learned that this rivalry led to a competition in space between the two superpowers to prove which had the better economic, military, scientific and technological system. This competition became known as "The Space Race". It all started on October 4, 1957, when the USSR launched Sputnik 1 into space. Sputnik (“traveler” in Russian) was the first man-made satellite. It consisted of a small beeping metal sphere, less than half a meter in diameter and weighing less than 200 pounds. The ball was small, but it started a great space race between the USSR and the United States. This race lasted about twenty years and, without a doubt, completely changed the world. Sputnik 1 was not the first man-made technological creation in space. Towards the end of World War II, the Germans had used the V-2 rocket as a last-ditch effort against the Allied powers. The V-2 was a ballistic missile with supersonic speed, and when the war ended, the United States and the Soviet Union took the scientists who created it to use for their own developments. By August 1957, the USSR had actually tested the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The R-7 was used two months later to launch Sputnik 1 into space. At this point the Soviet Union was ahead in the space race. Not content with this, President Eisenhower asked the Navy to launch an American satellite as soon as possible. On December 6, 1957, the United States attempted to launch the Vanguard TV3. Unfortunately, two seconds after takeoff, the rocket fell back and exploded. The...... middle of the paper ...... and the exchange of gifts. The space race had great historical significance for the United States and the entire world. On the surface, it looked like a battle between science and technology. In reality, it was a political battle between the world's two major superpowers and their economic systems, an ideological battle between communism and capitalism. So was the space race a waste of time? Could all those millions of dollars have been better invested in something else? Maybe, but it should not be forgotten that the space race has stimulated research in many fields, and this research has led to many life-changing developments. LED therapy to treat cancer, freeze-dried food, and memory foam used in mattresses are all the result of technologies developed by NASA for space. And let's not forget to thank the space program for the much-needed satellites for our GPS and cell phones!