Sometimes pure evil can, ironically, lead to good - and the space race is a prime example. The events leading to the race for space domination between the USSR and the USA can be traced back to the 1930's and Nazi Germany. Back in those days German missile technology was the most advanced in the world, and German scientists were experimenting with liquid-fueled rockets with the ultimate goal of sending rockets higher and further than ever before. Towards the end of the second world war both nations captured this advanced German rocket technology as well as staff, leading to a missile-based arms race.

This symbolic race was seen as a way to show the respective nation's technological and ideological dominance, and was even considered critical for national security. During those years there was a marked increase in education and research spending by the US government, with great importance placed on mathematics and science in schools.

The dream of reaching the stars brought about the space-race - a concerted effort to land on the moon, orbit a satellite around the Earth, and a whole lot more. These goals led to many spin-off technologies being developed along the way; today we'll be talking about the 10 most important ones.