After the end of World War II, a silent war slowly began between the USSR and the United States. It was a technological war. Both superpowers rushed to the Moon, but they couldn't do it themselves. Both sides attempted to recruit the German scientists behind the V-2 rockets. Using V-2 rocket technology that could reach speeds of nearly 3,500 mph, both sides raced to find the brilliant scientists behind the rocket technology. The space race was very big at that time due to the Cold War and they were using satellites to spy on each other. Both countries were strong militarily and it was an even match, but to prove who is stronger, the space race began. One thing that helped build a space rocket was a V-2 rocket built by the Germans during World War II. Over the years, the V-2 rocket morphed into the Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V was a rocket built by NASA to send humans to the Moon. The Saturn V rocket stood 363 feet tall and was about the height of a 36-story building. The Saturn V that launched the Skylab space station was only two stories high. The Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo missions had three stages. Each stage would burn its engines until it ran out of fuel, then separate from the rocket, then the next one would launch. Without the V-2 and German scientist von Braun, the United States probably would not have traveled to space. The United States sent astronaut John Glent to circle the Earth in 1962 to respond to the launch of Sputnik. In 1969, a milestone was reached when the United States sent astronaut Neil Armstrong to the Moon. The technology on the ship that took Neil into space was equivalent to a basic calculator built in 1980. They took a 64 KB computer (the lunar lander) into space with them. There were about 64...... middle of paper ......y 2009. Web. May 18, 2014. Hickman, Kennedy. "V-2 Rocket - German V-2 rocket from WWII." About.com Military History. Np, and Web. May 18, 2014. Lethbridge, Cliff. “Cape Canaveral Rocket and Missile Programs: Space Shuttle Program.” Cape Canaveral Rocket and Missile Programs: Space Shuttle Program. Np, and Web. May 18, 2014. “The Space Race.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, and Web. May 17, 2014. “Space Race.” Np, and Web. May 18, 2014. .Tate, Karl. “NASA’s Powerful Saturn V Moon Rocket Explained (Infographic).” Espace.com. Np, November 9, 2012. Web. May 18, 2014. Wall, Mike. "Space Race: Could the United States Have Beat the Soviets in Space?". Espace.com. Np, April 5, 2011. Web. May 18, 2014. “Wernher Von Braun.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, and Web. May 18 2014.