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For the most part NASA is a peacetime endeavor and has been marketed to the world as such. But the truth is, as with an abundance of peacetime technology that has been developed, there are military applications as well.
During the Second World War, Japan and Germany were trying to devise means to deliver ordinance in quantity to the American Homeland. Hitler had long range bombers on the drawing board until resources were channeled towards more pressing concerns. Japan tried floating ballons with incindiary devices using prevailing winds. Ultimately with the development of the V2 and the post war Soviets having pillaged the German technology, ICBM science was born.
Hence the race was on between the Soviet and American scientists to design bigger, better, faster and smarter.
Espionage was a big part of the Cold War. Each side wanted to know was the other side was doing so one componant to the astronauts mission was to scan the Soviet Union while orbiting overhead. The Cosmonauts were doing the same.
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