How did the “space race” reflect the technological competition between the Soviet Union and the United States? It led to the United States being the first nation to successfully launch a man-made satellite that orbited Earth despite multiple Soviet attempts to send a man into space.

It gave the Soviets a great deal of prestige after successfully landing two men on the moon and returning them to Earth safely prior to a similar American mission.

It increased focus of the United States on math and science education after the Soviet Union’s successful development of the first reusable spacecraft.

It caused each nation to try to be the first to achieve milestone events related to space, such as the first human-made satellite and the first mission to the moon.