Answer to Question #166920 in History for william

Question

briefly describe the direct competition: Space Race & Arms Race

Answer 1

An arms race occurs when two or more countries increase the size and quality of military resources to gain military and political superiority over one another. The Cold War span between the United States and the Soviet Union is perhaps the largest and most expensive arms race in history; however, others have occurred, often with dire consequences. On the other hand, the Space Race was an informal 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), to achieve firsts in spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations following World War II. The technological advantage required to rapidly achieve spaceflight milestones was seen as necessary for national security and mixed with the symbolism and ideology of the time. The Space Race led to pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, un-crewed space probes to the Moon, Venus and Mars and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and to the Moon.