the space race
noun/ðə ˈspeɪs reɪs/
/ðə ˈspeɪs reɪs/
[singular]- competition between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 60s to be the first to explore spaceCultureThe USSR was the early leader in the space race in 1957 with the Sputnik satellite, but the Americans were ahead by 1969 when the Apollo program landed men on the moon. The space race was once thought to have military importance, but the US and Russia now work together, for example, in developing future space stations.
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the space race