First man in space: A 50-year-old feat remembered It was the Soviet Union's own giant leap for mankind, one that would spur a humiliated America to race for the moon. It happened 50 years ago, when a 27-year-old air force pilot named Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. UN marks 50th anniversary of historic first human space flight The United Nations marked the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight in outer space by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin with a special session of the General Assembly and the opening of an exhibit to commemorate one of the greatest triumphs in human history. First man in space Yuri Gagarin 'wanted to fly again' Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin turned into an international icon when he became the first man to travel in to space 50 years ago. His daughter Elena Gagarina explains how his historic mission changed their lives forever. Stagnation fears haunt Russian space program Fifty years after Yuri Gagarin blasted into orbit, descendants of the Soviet craft that carried him still generate pride and profit for Russia, but critics say the nation's space program has slid into stagnation. How a penniless mystic won Russia the space race The Telegraph, April 10, 2011 A review of the BBC documentary The Storyville: Knocking on Heaven's Door by filmmaker George Carey about the Soviet Union's success in the Space Race from the work of pioneering scientists as well as penniless 19th-century mystic Nikolai Fedorov. Could the U.S. have beaten Soviets into space? A noted space historian says yes, but no doubt Gagarin and Sputnik spurred the U.S. on NASA's Glory Days timeline STS was the shuttle transportation system Space shuttle's lasting legacy: 30 Years of historic feats U.S. space shuttles revolutionized science and helped build the largest space station in history |
