Man-In-Space Firsts:
Rock Of Ages
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Youngest person to go to orbit: Cosmonaut Gherman Titov, at age 26, was the youngest person ever to go to orbit. He flew Vostok 2 in August 1961.

Youngest woman in orbit: Valentina Tereshkova, at age 26, was the youngest woman to fly in space. She rode in Vostok 6 in June 1963.

Youngest U.S. woman: At age 32, Sally Ride was the youngest U.S. woman to go to space. She travelled in shuttle Challenger in June 1983.

First person over 50 in space: Apollo 18 astronaut Deke Slayton, during the Apollo-Soyuz linkup in space in July 1975.

Oldest person to go to orbit: John Glenn, at age 77, became the oldest person in space when he was lofted to Earth orbit on October 29, 1998, for nine days aboard shuttle Discovery. His mission was to test the effects of space on the elderly. Earlier, Vance Brand, 59, had commanded the December 1990 flight of shuttle Columbia. Before that, Karl Henize had been the oldest person to fly in space. He was 58 when he flew in Challenger in 1985.

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