What best describes the motivation to pursue the Space Race?

Answer 1

The Cold War had been underway for decades. Although this "war" never had a battle, it was clearly about dominance and control, especially over nuclear weapons. Space, therefore, was an apt metaphor and literal embodiment of ultimate dominance! Who controlled Space controlled the World, at least by reputation. When the USSR put a monkey in space, the USA would do the ultimate--put men into space! This was still (gasp!) nearly unthinkable--yet men were thinking and planning this exact action.

Answer 2

The desire to demonstrate to the world that a nation could control the mechanical energy

required to lift the weight of a nuclear weapon into a ballistic trajectory, and had the precise

technology required to park the weapon in earth orbit for an arbitrary period of time, and

then, at a moment of its choosing, to guide the weapon to a detonation point dangerously

near anyplace on earth it chose to obliterate.

Answer 3

The desire for political and military dominance.