During the „Cold War“ the Soviet Union and the U.S. engaged in many disputes. Then another theater was added: outer space.
The Soviet space program had been the global leader since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957.
On 25 May 1961, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed in his famous speech that the U.S. would take a man to the moon and bring him back within the next 40 years.
The U.S. delivered on this promise with the Apollo program. The program had the objective to carry out the first manned moon landing.
After starting the program, the U.S. took over leadership in space from the Soviet Union. The program cost the U.S. 120 billion U.S. dollars and employed 400,000 people.
