The history of manned space exploration is essentially the history of the United States and Soviet/Russian space programs. Although the European Space Agency and China are expected to begin manned exploration of space in the early twenty-first century—manned exploration of space in the twentieth century resulted initially from a hotly contested "space race" that was, perhaps, the most visible of Cold War competitions between the Soviet and American superpowers. Initially driven by national pride and a quest for perceived strategic military advantage, over the last two decades, the exploration of space has become a more scientifically oriented and cooperative enterprise, especially in the ongoing joint construction of the International Space Station (ISS).

The official Soviet Space Program (SSP) began in May 1946, as it was then that the government made the decision to set up an industrial branch for...