may 15, 1960 - Korabl Sputnik I

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The Soviet Union launched an unmanned spacecraft into near-earth orbit. Designated Korabl Sputnik I by the Russians and called Sputnik IV by the Western press, the spacecraft weighed approximately 10,000 pounds and contained a pressurized space cabin with a dummy astronaut. On May 19, the attempt to bring the spacecraft back to earth failed when a flaw in the guidance system deflected the ship into a higher orbit. Soviet scientists said that conditions in the cabin, which had separated from the remainder of the spacecraft, were normal.

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