Out of view, but no less real a competition, was the drive to develop space for military uses. Well before Sputnik, both the US and USSR were developing plans for reconnaissance satellites. The Soviet Zenith spacecraft, which by the dual-use designed in by Korolev eventually became Vostok, was originally a photoimaging satellite. It was in competition with the USAF's Discoverer series, of which Discoverer XIII was the first payload recovered from space - one day ahead of the first Soviet recovered payload.

Program-program ketenteraan angkasa utama dibangunkan oleh A.S dan Soviet, often following a pattern whereby the US only completed a mockup before its program ended, while the USSR built, or even orbited, theirs:

1. Supersonic Intercontinental Cruise Missile: Navaho (test program stopped) vs. Buran cruise missile (plan)
2. Small Winged Spacecraft: X-20 Dyna-Soar (mockup) vs. MiG-105 (flight-tested)
3. Satellite Inspection Capsule: Blue Gemini (mockup) vs. Soyuz interceptor (plan)
4. Military Space Station: MOL (plan) vs. Almaz (flown somewhat modified as Salyut 2, 3, and 5)
5. Military Capsule with hatch in heat shield: Gemini B (tested crewless in space) vs. Merkur space capsule (flown crewless as part of TKS)
6. Ferry to Military Space Station: Gemini Ferry (plan) vs. TKS (flown crewless in space, and docked with a Salyut)