BREAKING POLITCAL BARRIERS

Although the during the Space Race several political barriers formed between the U.S. and the USSR, the ending of the Space Race helped break lots of barriers between   the two countries. The Space Race sparked intense competition and dislike of each other for the two countries, and caused them to work individually on their space programs. Once the Americans landed on the moon ending the race, however, the competition eased and the two countries began to respect each other in the means of    space travel. They soon understood that it was important to work together when dealing with such a complicated area, and they began to do so. In July of 1975, the Apollo-Soyuz test project was launched. The project included the docking of an American Apollo module with a Soviet Soyuz capsule. This important event, along with a    handshake between Tom Stafford and Alexei Leonov, signaled the end of a long and intense competition and shined a light on what space exploration could be if countries began to put their minds together to accomplish a common goal.