Capitalism got humankind to the moon. But communism (or whatever you’d call the actual political/economic system of the USSR) got them to the first animal in orbit, the first human in space and in orbit, the first satellite in orbit.
The political/economic system doesn’t matter so much, as long as a lot of other things have been done/invented first. Once those initial conditions are met, the country trying for those space-related firsts has to be rich enough to have a large group of people they can recruit into the effort, and an even larger group of people they can tax to pay for the effort.
Capitalism got humankind to the moon. But communism (or whatever you’d call the actual political/economic system of the USSR) got them to the first animal in orbit, the first human in space and in orbit, the first satellite in orbit.
The political/economic system doesn’t matter so much, as long as a lot of other things have been done/invented first. Once those initial conditions are met, the country trying for those space-related firsts has to be rich enough to have a large group of people they can recruit into the effort, and an even larger group of people they can tax to pay for the effort.