In the aftermath of the 2nd World War, the United States and the Soviet Union became embroiled in a competitive arms race that saw significant military gains on both sides, eventually culminating in the development of rockets capable of striking every territory across the world ("The Real Story of Apollo 17... And Why We Never Went Back To The Moon."). The Soviet Union succeeded in putting Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961, just a couple years after launching the first satellite into orbit ("The Real Story of Apollo 17... And Why We Never Went Back To The Moon."). By 1966, the space race peaked: NASA received its highest budget ever, at just under 4.5% of the total US federal budget at $5.933 billion dollars, which is about 43 billion today
