During the Cold War, the United States and the USSR, restrained by fear of a nuclear disaster, turned a dangerous confrontation into a unique rivalry for the sky - a phased race, the conditional finish of which was the landing of a man on the moon. On July 20, 1969, the Americans were the first to reach the finish strip. But how many remember that at the start it was the Soviet Union that unexpectedly pulled ahead and, bringing the whole world into excitement and awe, held the lead almost until the end of the race? Starting with the innovative ideas of Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, who substantiated the possibility of space flights, Massimo Capaccioli in a lively and exciting manner talks about all stages of the space race, paying special attention to the role of the USSR. The mysterious "chief designer" Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the first artificial Earth satellite, the dog Laika, the brave cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova, Alexey Leonov - all of them became symbols and real champions of an unprecedented competition. This story is not only about huge cars and complex mechanisms, this story is about aspirations and ambitions, dedication and patriotism, meanness and jealousy, about successes, mistakes and whims of fate.