The first humans in space
The first satellite ever to carry a man into space was the Vostok-I carrying the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. This 4,725 kg satellite, launched on April 12, 1961 stayed in orbit for 108 minutes before returning safely. Within the next 2 years, 5 more satellites in the Vostok series were launched, each carrying a passenger. Included in these was the Vostok 6, featuring the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, who was also the first woman commander of a spacecraft.
| In reply to the Soviet Unions' Vostok program, the United States set up the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) on Oct 1,1958 and six days later began the man in space program later re-named to "Project Mercury". Each Mercury capsule was named by the astronaut who flew in it. The "7" added to the end of each name was intended to suggest the teamwork of the astronaut group of the selected 7. Only 6 of the 7 made it to space as Deke
Slayton who developed a heart problem. The first mercury satellie was Freedom 7, launched on , with Alan B. Shepard, Jr. who became the first US astronaut in space. The Friendship 7, commanded by John H. Glenn was the first manned US flight in orbit around the earth. | 
Alan B. Shepard Jr. |
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The first men on the moon
"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," - this was the response of US President John F. Kenndy to the advanced of the Soviet space program. Having been defeated in the race of launching the first sateelite and putting the first man in space, the United States wanted to be the first to put a man on the moon. This project was called "Apollo".
The scientists at NASA chose a method called "Lunar Orbit Rendezvous", which in a way involved using two sets of spacecraft for one flight. The Apollo space craft consisted of 3 modules and a booster. The Command Module served as the crew's quarters and flight control section. The Service Module containing the propulsion system for mid-course corrections, retrofire to achieve lunar orbit, and thrust to return from lunar orbit into the earths' trajectory. The Lunar Module was to transport two astronauts from the craft to the moon and back to the waiting craft.
The first of the Apollos' was destroyed on January 27, 1967, during a countdown rehearsal, a fire broke out inside the spacecraft cabin and spread rapidly in the concentrated oxygen environment taking the lives of Virgil I. ("Gus") Grissom, WhiteEdward H. , and Roger B. Chaffee. The next four - Apollo 7 thorugh 10, were Earth and Lunar Orbital Missions. Apollo 11 was now set to go to the moon.
 | Apollo 11, launched July 16, 1969, manned by Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin transferred to the Lunar Module, and descent and landing on the Moon were made July 20 at 8:17 PM GMT. Armstrong who then became the first became man on the moon, said the famous words - "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin soon followed and the two spent two hours and twenty-four minutes on the moon, collecting 21.7 kg of lunar soil, taking photos and conducting various experiments. |
All the following Apollos' made it to the moon with the exception of Apollo-13, in which an explorsion damaged the main power supply and cut off the chief source of oxygen for the crew. The crew couldn't complete the landing but made it back safely to the earth. Apollo-15 launched on July 26, 1971 carried a lunar roving vehicle. The last of the US missions to the moon, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in the Apollo-17, spent 22 hours and five minutes on the surface and collected 116 kg of lunar soil.
While the Soviet Union did not land men on the Moon, it launched a series of robot lunar probes that returned important data and soil samples.
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