In 31 of January of the following year it only is that the North Americans had obtained to launch its first satellite, the Explorer-1, but with plus some months of delay in relation to Soviets (CLARKE, 1968; WHITE, 2003; WALNUT, 2005). Other Soviet successes still would come. In January of 1959 the not-manned sounding lead Luna-1 passed the 6,000 km of the Moon and was changedded into the first spaceship to fall in the orbit around the Sun. In the same year, in 14 of September, the Luna-2 became the first object made for the man to reach the Moon, even so has been destroyed in the impact with the ground lunar. In 4 of October the Luna-3 was launched, that became first investigates it to obtain images of the occult face of the Moon, that one that never is turned toward the Land. Each Soviet success was ovacionado for the world-wide press (CLARKE, 1968). Meanwhile, even so the United States had surpassed the Soviets in the amount of satellites launched to the space, none of its facts if equaled to the ones of the Communists.

Still in 1959 the United States had selected its first team of astronauts, in 9 of April, in a total of seven men, all egresses of the Armed Forces. The Soviet reply lode in 25 of February of the following year, when they had chosen twenty men, all pilots of the Air Force, as the first group of cosmonauts of the Soviet Union (SPACEFACTS, 2010). Although the North Americans have selected its astronauts almost one year before the Soviets will choose its cosmonauts, in 12 of April of 1961 the Soviet Union came back to surprise the world when launching on board the spaceship Vostok-1 with the young Yuri Gagarin. It became the first man to travel to the space and, to the end of one hour and stocking, having completed a return around the Land, returned in security (GREENE, 2008).