apr 12, 1961 - Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space.
Description:
On April 12th, 1961, Yuri Gagarin went into space for 108 minutes and became the first one to do so. He fully completed his Earth orbit, traveling up to 16,770 miles per hour. Unlike current missions, the capsule was designed to eject him once it got to a certain altitude. He spent the last 10 minutes of his mission coasting through the air to safely land back in Russia. His successful flight was a major victory for the Soviet Union and increased pressure on the United States to catch up in space exploration. This achievement inspired many future space missions and marked a turning point in human history.Added to timeline:
Date:
apr 12, 1961
Now
~ 65 years ago