re: Missiles
The US had planes all around the SU (Germany, Turkey, Iran, Alaska, the seas) and the SU was one huge block from East-Germany to Kamchatka. To reach the US, they needed rockets and they had a genious, Sergei Korolev.
And they certainly felt the competition against the US.
Kruschev would never miss an opportunity to remind the US how well they were in their space program.
But in 1966, things changed and a rendez-vous in space was first achieved by the US. Rendez-vous and docking are vital if one wants to build a space station, get to it or get fuel for a new mission.
Raoul