Long-Term:

”The Space Race grew out of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the most powerful countries after World War II. For a half-century, the two superpowers competed for supremacy in a global struggle across a variety of areas from military might to consumer goods. Space was a crucial and new arena for the Cold War rivalry. Before a watchful world, each side sought to demonstrate its superiority through impressive feats in rocketry and spaceflight. In addition to these milestones, technologies used for spaceflight had further applications. Rockets could launch missiles, while satellites could keep an eye on adversaries”(Smithsonian Institute).

There was a rivalry between both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It shows that they wanted to one-up each other in the arms race and show superiority. Short-Term:

“The Space Race began as an arms race between the respective militaries of the United States and the Soviet Union.” (National Air and Space Museum)

This tells us what the space race is and why it happened.