Which statement is true about the space race?

a the soviet union fell behind the united states early in the space race.

b the soviet union launched the first satellite to successfully orbit earth and sent the

first person into space.

c the united states launched freedom 7 and friendship 7 to be the first country to

launch a satellite and send a person to space.

d the united states did not view the soviet union as a rival in the space race.

this is ela not history

The correct answer is B. It is true that the Soviet Union launched the first satellite to successfully orbit Earth and sent the  first person into space.

Explanation:

The Space Race was the competition established between the United States and the Soviet Union for space exploration during Cold War.  

On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union was able to orbit the Sputnik, for the first time in history, orbiting the earth. Although this was officially another scientific act during the International Geophysical Year, the event was welcomed by the United States as a threat to its superiority in the military and communications fields.

Only four months after the launch of Sputnik the Americans launched their first Explorer I satellite and in 1958 they launched SCORE, the first communications satellite.

From then on, outstanding events took place: the first animals, men, women or trips to the outside of the capsule, and so on. The USSR was taking the lead, and the United States immediately responded. But when the objective was to bring an astronaut to the moon, the Soviets began to show signs of weakness.

The official end of the space race took place on July 17, 1975 with the meeting in the space of the crews of the Apollo and Soiuz ships. This was politically significant, as the process of changing the political regime in the USSR had not yet begun.