I have heard that as well, but to the best of my knowledge I don't believe it is accurate. Here is Wikipedia, from the Space Race page. >The Space Race began

I have heard that as well, but to the best of my knowledge I don't believe it is accurate. Here is Wikipedia, from the Space Race page. >The Space Race began on August 2, 1955, when the Soviet Union responded to the US announcement four days earlier of intent to launch artificial satellites for the International Geophysical Year, by declaring they would also launch a satellite "in the near future". The Soviet Union beat the US to this, with the October 4, 1957 orbiting of Sputnik 1, and later beat the US to the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961