Space Race Driven By The Nuclear Threat - TED-Ed Cartoon

One more excellent video from a year ago that goes a long way toward presenting an accurate understanding of what the space race was all about:

"Who won the space race? - Jeff Steers"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxpC-8f--xo

Quote:
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....by August 1957, the Soviets successfully tested the first intercontinental ballistic missile: the R-7 - the same rocket that would be used to launch Sputnik two months later. So the scary thing about Sputnik was not the orbiting ball itself, but the fact that the same technology could be used to launch a nuclear warhead at any city.
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And here's another solid recap was presented at TEDx last November:

"Why We Go -- Leaving Our Beautiful Home and Exploring Outer Space: Will Pomerantz at TEDxPCC"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ueGFLVFi80

These are clear signs that the tide has turned. One can imagine that it won't be too many years away before schoolchildren are actually taught the history of the Space Race accurately.

~ CT