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The space age began. Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union.
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The first piloted space flight, when Yuri A. Gagarin orbited Earth in the spaceship Vostok.
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The US launched the Apollo 8 spacecraft. It orbited the moon 10 times and returned safely to Earth.
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Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo 11 lunar module on the moon. Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon!
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The US space shuttle Columbia blasted off. It was the first reusable spaceship and first spacecraft able to land at an ordinary airfield.