April 12, 1961 - The Space Race begins

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In April 1961, in a field near the village of Smelovaka in Russia, two farm workers look up to see a man parachuting down towards them. He is wearing a bright orange suit and a white helmet. When he lands they approach him and ask "Have you come from outer space?"

"Yes, yes, would you believe it' he answered with a big grin, "I certainly have".

The man in the orange space suit was Yuri Gagarin and he was indeed returning to earth after becoming the first man to travel in space.

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May 5, 1961 - Freedom 7

Mercury-Redstone 3 was a U.S.

[H]

It was April 12... why would Gagarin dare go down with his ship?* 

* 1912

8-)

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May 25, 1961

The brash young American president commits his nation ...

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

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[WebbPA]

July 21, 1961 - Liberty Bell 7

Mercury-Redstone 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket. Its spacecraft was named Liberty Bell 7 and performed a suborbital flight piloted by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom.  It reached an altitude of over 118.26 mi (190 km) and traveled about 300 mi (480 km).

The spacecraft was lost at sea for 40 years amid controversy that Grissom panicked and blew the hatch prematurely.

Gus Grissom made one space flight after Liberty Bell 7, as commander of Gemini 3, the first manned Project Gemini flight.

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February 20, 1962 - Friendship 7

Seven months after Gus Grissom's flight America was ready to attempt to put a human in orbit.

Marine Corps pilot John Glenn orbited the Earth three times over five hours in space.



On October 29, 1998, he became the oldest person to fly in space, and the only one to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs, when at age 77, he flew on Discovery (STS-95).

[BigTruck]

[quote]February 20, 1962 - Friendship 7

Seven months after Gus Grissom's flight America was ready to attempt to put a human in orbit.

Marine Corps pilot John Glenn orbited the Earth three times over five hours in space.



On October 29, 1998, he became the oldest person to fly in space, and the only one to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs, when at age 77, he flew on Discovery (STS-95).