As with most historical events, the "one true cause" of the Space Race can never be pinned down because numerous competing factors influenced the final outcome. Below are some of the most prominent determinants, as we understand it today, of the 20th-century Space Race. They mostly center around American reasons for engaging in the rivalry, but most of the listed reasons apply in reverse to the Soviets, using similar logic.
1. Sputnik 1
The launch of Sputnik 1 was a primary driving factor behind the United States engaging in the Space Race. The knowledge that the Soviet Union had beat them to space made many Americans both indignant and fearful that Russians could soon have control over extraterrestrial realms.
2. Cold War tensions in everyday life
Even though the Cold War involved essentially no actual combat, it was an arms race between two incredibly powerful nations on a worldwide stage. Both countries were producing weapons - nuclear weapons - en masse, which naturally led people to wonder, When will they be used? Spying to glean classified information about the others' arms production programs and other endeavors was rampant in both the US and USSR. The prevalent tension was experienced not just by government officials but by everyday people all around the world, and events such as the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the war in Southeast Asia only exacerbated the issue. These tensions possibly led Americans to spiral into the Space Race with the Soviets because they were so accustomed to the rivalry that they couldn't bear to lose. They did not want to risk the USSR gaining any sort of advantage from conquering the space arena.
Ultimately, both countries believed that emerging as the victor in any component of their rivalry would be further proof of the superiority of their respective political-economic systems. Specifically, the United States preached a democratic government and a capitalist market, while the Soviet Union practiced communism and gave citizens little voice in government.
Ultimately, both countries believed that emerging as the victor in any component of their rivalry would be further proof of the superiority of their respective political-economic systems. Specifically, the United States preached a democratic government and a capitalist market, while the Soviet Union practiced communism and gave citizens little voice in government.
3. "Manifest Destiny"
Expansion has always been a value held close to American hearts. Now that the United States already stretched coast to coast, many Americans at this time saw space as the next frontier for the countries of the world to venture forth into. To them, this was a logical extension of the age-old principle of Manifest Destiny, the idea that the United States was simply meant to expand its borders and encompass more land and resources, bringing its culture and ways to the world and beyond. Most of all, Americans did not want to lose to the Soviets - they wanted to be the pioneers of the next expansionary wave.
4. Fear of nuclear attack
Typical of the Cold War era, Americans (and Soviets) lived under constant threat of nuclear attack, despite the knowledge that both sides would be destroyed in nuclear war (Mutually Assured Destruction). However, the Americans feared that Soviets could launch missiles from space with great accuracy, making it difficult for the United States to react in time. This danger also fueled American and Soviet efforts alike to battle each other in spaceflight technology for the two decades of the Space Race.