Not only did the Cold War take place on Earth, but it gave way to the Space Race. With the Soviets launching Sputnik, the U.S. launched its first satellite, Explorer I, in 1958. The same year, President Dwight Eisenhower created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.
The Space Race pushed the U.S. into launching manned space missions. The first American in space was Alan Shepard, shortly followed by the Apollo 11 mission putting Neil Armstrong on the moon. The U.S. effectively won the Space Race with those first steps on the moon.