Who won the space race?

By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. For their part, the Soviets made four failed attempts to launch a lunar landing craft between 1969 and 1972, including a spectacular launch-pad explosion in July 1969. read more

This space race also took place in the context of dramatically different resources. While the United States spent $25 billion on the Apollo program to the moon, the USSR spent half that at most [source: Keller]. read more

The Space Race refers to the 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for dominance in spaceflight capability. read more