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The Soviet Union establishes the Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel. This group would soon be renamed the Society for the Study of Interplanetary Communications and would become the first Soviet rocket society.
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The United States launches its first American-designed rocket. Known as the Wac Corporal, the rocket reaches the edge of space at an altitude of 50 miles after being launched from the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico.
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Fruit flies become the first animals in space as a V-2 rocket is launched from the White Sands Proving Ground. Inside are several vials containing fruit flies, rye seeds, and cotton seeds. The flight reaches an altitude of 60 miles, and the payload is later retrieved intact.
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Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space.
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