The space race had ideological overtones. The ultimate winner could claim that their political system (capitalism in the USA and communism in the USSR) was the most effective system in terms of technological and scientific accomplishment. There were also national security dimensions to the contest, since satellites carried not only scientific but also military instrumentation. Space-related technology gave an edge to nations that possessed it.
The basic technology of space launch rockets was derived from intercontinental ballistic missile rockets developed by Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The allies (the USA, the USSR and the UK) all captured parts of the German rocket technology: plans, data and engineering personnel. The USA captured Wernher von Braun, the technical director of the German ballistic missile programme.
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