After the conclusion of World War II, two countries that were once allies found themselves on the brink of war. America and the Soviet Union were divided by politics and ideology, “…capitalism versus communism – each held with almost religious conviction, formed the basis of an international power struggle with both sides vying for dominance, exploiting any opportunity for expansion anywhere in the world” (Truemann, 2014). History will define this battle as the Cold War as neither country fired a weapon directly at the other. In the 1950s, this battle looked upward, and space became another terrain of technological and military competition. Space exploration served as a dramatic arena for Cold War competition. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets achieved an epic victory while America watched in disbelief; the Soviets launched an R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile. With the successful placement of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into Earth orbit, the space race began in earnest. Facing America, “the small satellite brought the Soviet Union into the technological spotlight and demonstrated that the country was capable of modern feats” (Staff, 2010). The Americans were terrified! The possibility of war hovered in every household as the Soviets had just demonstrated a military capability that the United States could not match. “The stage of the R-7 rocket that carried Sputnik into orbit was easily visible from the ground and shone as brightly as the stars Spica or Antares” (Howell, 2012). This visual reminder orbited the earth for nearly 90 days. America believed that if the Soviets could use the R-7 rocket to launch Sputnik into space, then it would be possible... middle of paper ......with a spaceship docked in orbit with a Soyuz of Soviet vehicle manufacturing” (Staff, 2010). When the commanders of each country officially greeted each other, “their handshake in space served to symbolize the gradual improvement of US-Soviet relations” (Staff, 2010). Although the Cold War was not over, this partnership allowed for the gradual improvement of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. exacerbation of tensions between the two parties. As the partnership grew, the challenge for both parties was determining where to go next. “While the Americans eventually pursued development of the space shuttle, the Soviets embarked on a program to place crews in space for extended periods of time by building the Salyut series of orbital space stations” (Logsdon & Sagdeev, 2008). What began as a competition between two countries in conflict with each other, transformed into an era of cooperative exploration and discovery.