The space race for America began with the end of World War Two. The German rocket scientists were captured, some of them by Russia. Rocket scientist Wherner von Braun began working for the US Army in Huntsville, Alabama. The Army had commissioned him to build rockets for use in the Korean War. Wherner von Braun was dissatisfied with this task; he had a dream that his rockets would be used to explore space. .
He told President Eisenhower that he had the capability to put a satellite, even a man into orbit. Wherner forecasted this five years before Sputnik was launched. Eisenhower told von Braun that the country's priorities with regard to rockets concerned warfare. During the Korean War there was little funding for von Braun's rockets until Sputnik was launched. .
NASA created the Mercury program and produced seven test pilots. Three Navy pilots, three Air Force pilots, and one Marine pilot were selected. Wherner von Braun chose his Redstone rocket to propel them. The seven test pilots became celebrities. In March of 1961 Ham the ape became the first American in space. In April of 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. On May 5th Allan Shepard became the second man in space.
Werner von Braun who designed also the German V2 rocket designed the Saturn V rocket. It was one the most powerful types of rockets built ever The Russian rocket Energia was the only rocket more powerful. The Saturn V's structure was that of a can. If a can is empty and has no dents, the can will stay pressurized under pressure. Only when there are dents in a can will it collapse. The Saturn V rocket is the rocket that launched American astronauts to the moon. .
A cold war arose between the Soviet Union and the United States. In reality there was no real fighting. Both superpowers were ready to go to war at the blink of an eye, yet never authorized nuclear war against each other. This was a war fought in the political ring and began at the end of World War II.