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Launch of Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 spurred US to launch it's own satellite. -
Explorer 1 was the first American satellite to reach orbit
Explorer 1 is a landmark in the technical/scientific history of the Space Race. -
Yuri Gagarin orbits Earth and becomes the first man in space
April 12th was also the day of 20 years before launch of the first shuttle mission. -
Valentina Tereshkova becomes first woman in space
After 48 orbits, and 71 hors, Valentina returned to earth. -
Alexei Leonov takes first spacewalk for 12 minutes
When Alexei stepped on teh Moon, he described it as being "like a seagull with its wings outstretched, soaring high above the Earth.” -
Luna 10 is first satellite to orbit the Moon.
Luna 10 followed the failure of an identical mission. -
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee are killed when a fire ignited the Appollo 1
Apollo 1 was intended to test important technologies: -
Yuri Gagarin, first man in space, dies in plane crash
Yuri died a little before his Vostok 1 missions 7th anniversary. -
Zond 5 was launched carrying 2 turtles around the moon and back to earth 6 days later
This shows that other organisms can survive in space for six days. -
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldin became the first men on the moon while Michael Collins orbits around the moon
When Armstrong climbed down the ladder onto the moon, he said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."