The Soviet program was better right from the beginning:

- first to launch a satellite into space.
- first astronaut in space.
- first space station.
- first to grow food in space.
- most robust and safest manned rocket
- enough sense not to shoot for the moon or further

It was the American's who copied the Soviets. The Mercury capsule was designed and built by soviets who defected. Although they might have copied the shuttle, their version had two important improvements on the American design: autonomous flight capability and engines for a powered landing.

The fact is, Americans can't do anything really original. It's their philosophy that's poorly thought out: "competition" versus purpose, "privatization" versus reason. Word usage rather than logic and learning.