background information
Before the Space Race between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the tension between the two was unbearable during the Cold War. From the Berlin Wall to the Cuban Missle Crisis every event just cause the two to be more at one anothers throats. The science aspect of the Cold War didn't come during, but before it. During the holocaust, Hitler had many of Germany's scientists working on space technology for military implications. Luckily, before Hitler was able to make his dream a reality, the holocaust ended and the scientists that were given the job were taken into custody by American soldiers. In a project called project paperclip, these scientists that had previously been involved in guided missle project and human experimentation were now going to be helping America make advancements in space and technology. Scientists like Von Braun had so much trust put in them that they would later hold high positions in NASA during the Space Race. In Von Brauns case he would head all of NASA, overseeing everything happening in terms of space exploration. It wasn't just America who captured Nazi Scientists, though. The Soviet Union captured several scientists near the end of the war, but the scientists they obtained weren't near as smart or useful as the ones like Von Braun the U.S. obtained. Scientists weren't the only two things the Americans and Soviets obtained when the camps were raided. With the scientists came not only skilled workers, but also an unimaginable flow of information concerning rockets like the V-2 that the Nazis had been working on. These ideas would be later used in U.S. space craft technology. Again, the U.S. had an advantage because the knowledge about Nazi rockets was much superior in the major scientists rather then the minor scientists the Soviets had. Throughout the time before the space race, the U.S. had these scientists working on space technology, but was never dedicating funds to this. This caused the Soviets to gain a lead in space technology even before the space race. The United States had little to no time to waste thinking about space exploration well major events like the Korean War, Cuban Missle Crisis, Bay of Pigs, and many others occupied their time. The U.S. had, however, made a set date to launch a satellite into orbit for the first time. This set date was based on many factors like there would be a lot of activity during that day, making a satellite launch a better idea. What the U.S. didn't know, though, was that the Soviets already had a date set to launch the beach ball sized satellite Sputnik into orbit that was way before the U.S.s. This is why the U.S. was extremely surprised when Sputnik was put into orbit and the Soviets became the first country to put a satelite into orbit.
never before had the United States been surpassed in science by the Soviets.
never before had the United States been surpassed in science by the Soviets.