The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (USA), for dominance in spaceflight capability. It started in 1955, largely catalyzed by the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, by the USSR in 1957. The competition led to significant advancements in science, technology, aerospace and related industries. In the context of the Cold War, the Space Race had several strategic implications. Firstly, it was a demonstration of technological superiority and military prowess, given the applicability of rocket tech to nuclear weapons delivery. Secondly, it was a tool for propaganda, advancing national prestige and ideologies. It also fostered a sense of nationalism and unity within each country. The race significantly influenced global politics by bolstering the image of the competing nations and altering their relationships with other countries. For example, the success of the American Apollo lunar landing in 1969 was taken as evidence of the benefits of a free-market economy versus the Soviet-style communism. Post-Space Race, both the USA and USSR moved towards "détente" or ease of cold war tensions and started co-operating on certain missions which laid the foundation for agencies like the International Space Station (ISS), embodying an enduring legacy of the Space Race. It's notable that these developments equally played a major role in shaping the politics of space exploration even today.