How did the Soviet Union accomplish this through sattelite countries? How did they convince them to be Communist?

In response to perceptions of Soviet technological success, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established on October 1, 1958 as the primary federal agency responsible for aerospace research and the civilian space program. In December, NASA took control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory operated by the California Institute of Technology, forming NASA-JPL. The Advanced Research Projects Agency, which took the lead in developing space technology for military purposes, was also created in 1958.NASA’s earliest objective was to launch a manned vehicle into Earth’s orbit as soon as possible. squared It would be the Soviets, however, who would win the race to put a man in space. In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter Earth’s orbit, in a single-pilot spacecraft called Vostok I.

The Americans were not far behind, however, and one month later, in May, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, piloting a 15-minute suborbital flight. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to enter Earth’s orbit. Early Soviet successes in the space race led US President John F. Kennedy to announce the inauguration of the Apollo program, which pledged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

i really really really really really really dont know