The rush to the Moon wasn’t the only space race during the Cold War. While the United States and the Soviet Union sprinted to get into orbit—and beyond—another contest was proceeding inside the U.S. government, cloaked in secrecy. At the same time that the USA was competing with the USSR to get into the solar system, NASA and the U.S. military were battling each other for dominance of America’s efforts in space.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/09/the-spies-who-saved-the-space-shuttle.html