Editing Space Race (section)

=== Missile race ===
{{Main|Intercontinental ballistic missile}}

Soon after the end of World War II, the two former allies became engaged in a state of political conflict and military tension known as the [[Cold War]] (1947–1991), which polarized Europe between the Soviet Union's [[satellite state]]s (often referred to as the [[Eastern Bloc]]) and the states of the [[Western world]] allied with the U.S.{{sfn|Schmitz|1999|pp=149–54}}

In August 1949, the Soviet Union became the second nuclear power after the United States with the successful [[RDS-1]] nuclear weapon test. In October 1957, the Soviet Union conducted the world's first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), this was the [[R-7 Semyorka]] (also known as SS-6 by NATO) and was seen as capable of striking U.S. territory with a nuclear payload.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Timeline: U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Control |url=https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-russia-nuclear-arms-control |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=www.cfr.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=R-7 - SS-6 SAPWOOD Russian / Soviet Nuclear Forces |url=https://nuke.fas.org/guide/russia/icbm/r-7.htm |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=nuke.fas.org}}</ref> Fears in the US due to this perceived threat became known as the [[Missile gap]]. The first American ICBM, the [[Atlas missile]], was tested in late 1958.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuclear Weapons and the Escalation of the Cold War, 1945-1962 {{!}} Department of History |url=https://history.stanford.edu/publications/nuclear-weapons-and-escalation-cold-war-1945-1962 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=history.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref>

ICBMs presented the ability to strike targets on the other side of the globe in a very short amount of time and in a manner which was impervious to air interception such as bombers might have been. The value which ICBMs presented in a nuclear standoff were very substantial, and this fact greatly accelerated efforts to develop rocket and rocket interception technology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cold War Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles I |url=https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/01/10/cold-war-intercontinental-ballistic-missiles-i/ |website=weaponsandwarfare|date=January 10, 2020 }}</ref>