The Space Race was a battle for technological superiority between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Everyone wanted to highlight the strengths of their political and economic system. Its effects were considerable; Most notably, the space race has acted as a safety valve for military tensions during this era of potential nuclear war. It ultimately expanded collaboration on issues of mutual interest and provided opportunities to work together, despite the deep distrust and disdain that still exists today toward Russia and Russia. some of the remains of the USSR. To understand the Space Race and the relationship between the Soviets and Americans, we must first understand the Cold War and how it all started. A Cold War can be defined as “a conflict or dispute between two groups that does not involve actual fighting” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold+war nd). This conflict was a result of the fundamental differences between the political ideologies of capitalism and communism and this manifested itself in many ways. Proxy wars took place like in Korea and Vietnam where the US fought against the communists in those countries and the Soviets supported them and then the US repaid them in Afghanistan with our support in arms and by financing the mujahideen in their fight against the USSR. The Cold War also gave rise to espionage warfare and spectacular cover-and-stab activities, as well as competitions for technological superiority such as the space race and the quest for weapons and machines superior warfare. Although there had been a long cold spell between the Soviets and the United States since at least the end of World War I, it is generally accepted that the Cold War began in 1947 with......the middle paper ......ect, where three American astronauts met space with two Soviet works cited Apollo 1. nd http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo1.html#.U0V- jVdCNgQ.Chertok, Boris E. Rockets and People. Washington DC: NASA, 2005. Degroot, Gerard J. The Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Folly of the American Lunar Quest. New York: NYU Press, 2006. Gemini's Bridge to the Moon. and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/#.U0V5cVdCNgS. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold+war. ndKennedy, President John F. I believe we should go to the moon. and http://history.nasa.gov/SP-350/ch-2-1.html.Launius, Roger D. Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age. nd http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/sputorig.html (accessed April 7, 2014).Mercury The Manned Flight Summary. and http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/flight-summary.htm.