In 1958, the Presidential Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) identi- fied its four priorities: human exploration, the use of space for military purposes, national prestige and science. The emphasis was clearly on the second and third components.85 Like the Soviet Union, the U.S. intended to use the prestige associated with its space programme to “win hearts and minds”, both of its allies and of non-aligned countries. Such political considerations prevailed in the space competition between the two blocks, but were also driving cooperation endeavours in space. Cooperation programmes within the blocks were primarily used to strengthen alliances and to enhance national prestige. On the Soviet side, the Intercosmos programme allowed cosmonauts from
