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October 4 - Sputnik gets launched into space, marking the beginnig of the Space Race.
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Jan. 31 - Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.
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Sep. 12 - Luna 2 is launched. It impacts the Moon on September 13, becoming the first man-made object to do so.
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Apr. 12 - Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.
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Feb. 20 - John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.
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May 15 - Gordon Cooper spends 34 hours in space. He is the last American to fly in space alone.
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Jun. 3 - Ed White performs America's first spacewalk. Jim McDivitt remains in the Gemini capsule.
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Feb. 3 - Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon.
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Dec. 21 - Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders begin the first manned journey from the Earth to the Moon. On Christmas Eve they take turns reading Genesis in a broadcast heard around the world.
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Jul. 20 - Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the Moon alone.
