Yuri Gagarin: First Man in Space Yuri Gagarin: First Man in Space | The Greatest Moments in Flight By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 24, 2012 02:00pm ET MORE On 12 April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space when he launched into orbit on the Vostok 3KA-3 spacecraft (Vostok 1). Credit: ESA This is part of a SPACE.com series of articles on the Greatest Moments in Flight, the breakthrough events that paved the way for human spaceflight and its next steps: asteroid mining and bases on the moon and Mars. The United States and the Soviet Union vigorously competed to push the boundaries of mankind's exploration of space. The Russians scored a victory when they launched a small craft carrying cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to new heights. His 108-minute flight gave him a permanent place in the history books as the first man in space. The race to the stars With the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first manmade satellite, the Russians took an early lead in the space race.

The next step was to send a human off the planet. The American plan to send a man into space by 1961 created a deadline that the Russian team worked hard to beat. The development of the Vostok spacecraft became paramount. Prior to Gagarin’s historic flight, the Soviets sent a prototype of his spaceship, along with a life-size dummy called Ivan Ivanovich and a dog called Zvezdochka. With these successes, the vessel was considered ready to take a living, breathing human into space. [ INFOGRAPHIC: How the First Human Spaceflight Worked ] The right stuff More than 200 Russian Air Force fighter pilots were selected as cosmonaut candidates. Such pilots were considered optimum because they had exposure to the forces of acceleration and the ejection process, as well as experience with high-stress situations. Among the pilots was 27-year-old Senior Lieutenant Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin. The third of four children, Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in a small village a hundred miles from Moscow. As a teenager, Gagarin witnessed a Russian Yak fighter plane make an emergency landing near his home.

When offered a chance years later to join a flying club, he eagerly accepted, making his first solo flight in 1955. Only a few years later, he submitted his request to be considered as a cosmonaut. [ PHOTOS: Yuri Gagarin & 50 Years of Human Spaceflight ] First in (space) flight On April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time, the Vostok 1 spacecraft blasted off from the Soviets' launch site. Because no one was certain how weightlessness would affect a pilot, the spherical capsule had little in the way of onboard controls; the work was done either automatically or from the ground. If an emergency arose, Gagarin was supposed to receive an override code that would allow him to take manual control, but Sergei Korolov, chief designer of the Soviet space program, disregarded protocol and gave it to the pilot prior to the flight. Over the course of 108 minutes, Vostok 1 traveled around the Earth once, reaching a maximum height of 203 miles (327 kilometers). Over Africa, the engines fired to bring Gagarin back to Earth.

The craft carried ten days worth of provisions in case the engines failed and Gagarin was required to wait for the orbit to naturally decay, but they were unnecessary. Gagarin re-entered Earth's atmosphere, experiencing forces up to eight times the pull of gravity, but remained consciousness. Vostok 1 had no engines to slow its re-entry or a way to land safely. About four miles up (seven kilometers), Gagarin ejected and parachuted to Earth. In order for the mission to be counted as an official spaceflight, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the governing body for aerospace records, had determined that the pilot must land with the spacecraft. Soviet leaders indicated that Gagarin had touched down with the Vostok 1, and did not reveal that he had ejected until 1971. Regardless, Gagarin still set the record as the first man to leave Earth's orbit and travel into space. [ Milestones in Human Spaceflight: Pictures ] After the mission Upon his return to Earth, Gagarin was an international hero. He was cheered in Red Square by a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

A national treasure, he traveled around the world to celebrate the historical Soviet achievement. On returning home, he became a deputy of the Supreme Soviet and was appointed Commander of the Cosmonauts' Detachment. Because Russia did not want to risk such a public figure, they were hesitant to allow him back into space. He continued to make test flights for the Air Force, however. On March 27, 1968, Gagarin was killed in while test-piloting a MiG-15. He was survived by his wife, Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva, and two daughters. When Apollo 11 touched down on the moon in July 1969, the crew left behind a commemorative medallion bearing Gagarin’s name, as well as medallions for another cosmonaut and three Apollo astronauts who lost their lives in accidents. First Americans in space Alan Shepard flew in space on May 5, 1961, the first American to do so. He launched aboard a Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket named Freedom 7. The suborbital flight lasted 15 minutes.

Credit: NASA Alan Shepard was the first American in space and the second person in space, launching on a suborbital flight in a Mercury capsule called Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961 — just three weeks after Gagarin's flight. [ Pictures of the First American in Space ] Shepard is said to have been frustrated that the United States did not win the race. The Soviet victory could have been prevented , Shepard reportedly felt, had NASA not delayed his mission multiple times for tests. "I think he was a little bit frustrated with NASA for, in his mind, being a little bit overly cautious," according to Neal Thompson, author of "Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard" (Three Rivers Press, 2005). "He was a little bit pissed off that they delayed it so much that the Russians were able to get up there first." John Glenn was the first American in orbit , launching in the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn orbited Earth three times during the flight, which took place 10 months after Gagarin’s mission.

[ Pictures of the First American in Orbit ] The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut who flew the Vostok 6 mission on June 16, 1963. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride , who was a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on flight STS-7 on June 18, 1983. —Nola Taylor Redd & Robert Roy Britt Related: Project Mercury: America's 1st Manned Space Program Project Mercury: America's 1st Manned Space Program By Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor | February 10, 2014 06:50pm ET MORE The National Aeronautics and Space Administration came into being on October 1, 1958. NASA announced the seven Project Mercury Astronauts on April 9, 1959, only six months later. They are: (front, l to r) Walter H. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and Scott Carpenter; (back, l to r) Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I.

Gus Grissom, and L. Gordon Cooper. Credit: NASA Mercury was NASA's first human spaceflight program. Its major aim was to see if humans could function effectively in space for a few minutes or hours at a time. Each mission flew only one person at once into space, starting with 15-minute long missions and gradually expanding to a day's time. The first seven astronauts were chosen in 1959, and they and their families instantly became worldwide celebrities. Their fame was further enhanced with an exclusive contract with Life magazine for $500,000 (or about $4 million today). The stories painted the astronauts as American heroes fighting communism with their space missions. The PR was part of the Mercury program's push to fly a man in space before the Soviet Union did. While Mercury failed in that aim, it did provide a technological basis for the more challenging orbital missions of Gemini and the moon missions of Apollo that took place later in the 1960s. Early Mercury flights There were several tests of the Mercury spacecraft before humans were put on board. The first living creature to fly on Mercury was not a test pilot, but a chimpanzee.

The chimp, named Ham (an acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center), blasted off aboard a Mercury Redstone rocket on Jan. 31, 1961. NASA officials wanted to fly Ham first in case the flight ran into technical problems, which it did. The spacecraft flew higher and faster than anticipated and splashed down more than 400 miles off course, but Ham emerged healthy except for mild dehydration and fatigue. [ Related: Laika the Dog & the First Animals in Space ] After one more test flight on March 24, NASA felt ready to bring its first astronaut into space. That person was Alan Shepard , a World War II veteran and Navy test pilot. When he lifted off on May 5, 1961, for a suborbital flight, his milestone came just weeks after the first man (a Russian, Yuri Gagarin ) made it into space on April 12. Shepard's 15-minute flight aboard Freedom 7 was a success, but he was frustrated at not making it first. "We had 'em," Shepard is reported to have said about the Soviets at the time.

"We had 'em by the short hairs, and we gave it away." Mercury's next flight on July 21, 1961, ran into a major snag. Gus Grissom 's Liberty Bell 7 performed relatively well on the 15-minute suborbital hop until splashdown, when the door unexpectedly blew open. Grissom found himself in the water as the recovery helicopter tried in vain to rescue the spacecraft. The cause of the door problem was never found. Sadly, Grissom died in a launch pad fire aboard Apollo 1 ; one factor in his death was a hatch door his three-person crew could not open. Reaching orbit While the Mercury missions were technological feats for NASA and its contractors, they were quite short — only 15-minute arcs between Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. The Soviets, meanwhile, had already done orbital missions that circled the Earth several times. Getting the Americans to that stage would require a more powerful rocket, among other mission changes. So when John Glenn aimed for three orbits of Earth, his Friendship 7 spacecraft did it aboard a more powerful Mercury-Atlas rocket combination. He blasted off on Feb.

20, 1962, and during his three-orbit and five-hour mission, discovered strange "fireflies" that were appearing to follow his spacecraft, a phenomenon later explained as ice crystals coming off the hull. Controllers saw an indication that his landing bag had prematurely deployed. They waited to tell Glenn, then close to re-entry instructed Glenn to keep his retrorocket package strapped on to his spacecraft as a precaution. The indication turned out to be false, and Glenn was upset that he had not been told as soon as the problem arose. He nevertheless became a public hero and eventually parlayed that popularity to make a second career in the Senate before returning to space aboard a shuttle in 1998. The next mission, Aurora 7, again ran into splashdown problems on May 24, 1962. Pilot Scott Carpenter landed about 250 miles (400 kilometers) off course after about five hours in space. Some space program officials, notably flight director Chris Kraft, blamed the problem on Carpenter's inattention during the mission.

In two oral interviews with NASA, Carpenter said it was a combination of technical problems (some sensors were malfunctioning) and excessive fuel use as Carpenter worked to solve Glenn's firefly mystery. "There was excessive fuel use, which scared a lot of the folks on the ground. There was enough. There was enough for the entry. A lot of people thought there would not be. And it was anybody's guess," Carpenter recalled in 1998. He never flew again. Closing the program With the two-man Gemini spacecraft heavily in development, NASA focused the last two missions on making sure that spacecraft and astronauts could be ready for missions that lasted over several days. Wally Schirra , who named his spacecraft Sigma 7 to honor excellence in engineering, went so far as to ask program officials to turn off the automatic controls on his spacecraft so he could better manage fuel use. Schirra launched on Oct. 3, 1962, for a six-orbit mission, carefully rationing his fuel through the mission by using just small bursts of thruster fuel at a time. By the time he was ready to go back to Earth, more than half of Schirra's fuel was left.

In his autobiography "Schirra's Space," the astronaut said he had to dump the remainder. His mission drew praise in NASA and he flew two more missions in the Gemini and Apollo programs, becoming the only astronaut to fly in all three of NASA's manned space programs. Schirra's success cleared the way for Gordon Cooper to go for 22 orbits between May 15 and 16, 1963, aboard his spacecraft, Faith 7. With astronaut Deke Slayton sidelined due to a heart condition, and the Gemini program ready for flights, NASA shifted its attention to this new program. There, the agency aimed to learn more about orbital maneuvering and human endurance for future moon missions. See how the first American astronauts flew in space on NASA's Mercury space capsules in this SPACE.com infographic. Credit: Karl Tate/SPACE.com The Cold War for Kids: Space Race The Cold War Space Race During the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union engaged a competition to see who had the best technology in space. This included such events as who could put the first manned spacecraft into orbit and who would be the first to walk on the Moon.

The Space Race was considered important because it showed the world which country had the best science, technology, and economic system. Man on the Moon Apollo 17 by Harrison H. Schmitt The Race Begins After World War II both the United States and the Soviet Union realized how important rocket research would be to the military. They each recruited the top rocket scientists from Germany to help with their research. Soon both sides were making progress in rocket technology. The Space Race began in 1955 when both countries announced that they would soon be launching satellites into orbit. The Soviets took the US announcement as a challenge and even established a commission whose goal was to beat the US in putting a satellite into space. On October 4, 1957 the Russians placed the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I. The Russians had taken the lead in the Space Race. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months later called the Explorer I. The First Man in Orbit The Soviets again won the race for putting the first man into space. On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the Earth in the spacecraft Vostok I.

Three weeks later the US launched the Freedom 7 and astronaut Alan Shepherd became the first American in space. Shepherd's craft did not orbit the Earth, however. It was nearly a year later on February 20, 1962 when the first American, John Glenn, orbited the Earth on the Friendship 7 spacecraft. Race to the Moon The Americans were embarrassed at being behind the Space Race. In 1961 President Kennedy went to congress and announced that he wanted to be the first to put a man on the Moon. He felt this was important for the country and the western world. The Apollo Moon program was launched. The Gemini Program In conjunction with the Apollo program the US launched the Gemini program which would develop technology for use on the Apollo spacecraft. Under the Gemini program the Americans learned how to change the orbit of a spacecraft, spent significant time in orbit to learn how the human body would be affected, brought two spacecraft together in a rendezvous in space, and also went on the first space walks outside of a space craft. Man on the Moon After many years of experiments, test flights, and training the Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched into space on July 16, 1969.

The crew included astronauts Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The trip to the Moon took three days. Upon arriving Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin moved to the Lunar module, called the Eagle, and began their descent to the Moon. There were some malfunctions and Armstrong had to land the module manually. On July 20, 1969 the Eagle landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong stepped outside and became the first man to walk on the Moon. With his first step on the Moon, Armstrong said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". The End of the Space Race With the Gemini and Apollo programs the US had taken a huge lead in the Space Race. In July of 1975 with relations between the US and the Soviet Union beginning to thaw, the first US-Soviet joint mission occurred with the Apollo-Soyez project. The Space Race was effectively over. Interesting Facts About the Space Race The Russians called their space pilots cosmonauts meaning "sailors of the universe". The Americans were called astronauts meaning "star sailors". Before Kennedy was assassinated, the Russians and the Americans were discussing working together to put a man on the Moon.

After he was killed, the Russians backed off the joint venture. The US would likely have had the first satellite in orbit if they had been allowed to use military rockets from the start. However, Eisenhower was worried he would be called a warmonger if he used military rockets for space. He told the scientists they must use research rockets instead. The Space Race was not a long series of successes. Both sides had plenty of failures including crashes and explosions that resulted in the death of several astronauts. Take a ten question quiz about this page. To learn more about the Cold War: Back to the Cold War summary page. Overview Space Firsts Between 1957 - 1966 | NASA: Challenging the Space Frontier | Scholastic.com The world's first satellite, Sputnik (AP/Wide World) First Satellite to Orbit Earth October 4, 1957 The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite. Called Sputnik, a combination of words meaning "fellow-traveler of Earth," it weighs about 184 pounds. Sputnik circles the globe beeping radio signals, demonstrating that the Soviets have rockets that could send warheads anywhere on Earth.

This event triggers the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Laika, the first animal in space (NASA) First Animal in Space November 3, 1957 The Soviet Union launches a female dog into space on Sputnik II. Her name is Laika, which means "barker" in Russian. She lives for seven days, proving that animals (and presumably humans) can survive in space. There is no way to bring her back alive, so Laika is put to sleep. Sputnik II falls to Earth in April of the next year. Yuri Gagarin onboard Vostok 1 (UPI/Corbis/Bettmann) First Human in Space April 12, 1961 Riding on the Soviet Vostok 1, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space. In case spaceflight caused Gagarin to behave strangely, the craft's controls were locked. There was a key onboard in a sealed envelope in case of emergency. Vostok 1 shook wildly during entry, but Gagarin did not use the key. Once he was low enough, he ejected and used a parachute.

Alan Shepard in his pressure suit for the flight of Freedom 7 (NASA) First American in Space May 5, 1961 The United States sends astronaut Alan Shepard on a 15-minute, 28-second sub-orbital flight onboard Freedom 7. Three weeks later, on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy vows to send men to the moon and back before the end of the decade. First American to Orbit Earth February 20, 1962 John Glenn circles Earth three times in 4 hours and 56 minutes. In 1998, at age seventy-seven, John Glenn becomes the oldest person to fly in space, as part of the STS-95 space shuttle crew. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (AP/Wide World) First Woman in Space June 16, 1963 The Soviets launch Valentina Tereshkova on Vostok 6. She spends three days alone in space. Her spacecraft comes within three miles of Valeri Bykovsky in Vostok 5. This is first time two spacecraft pass this close together while in orbit.

First Space Walk March 18, 1965 Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov takes the first space walk , a ten-minute tethered excursion outside Voshkod 2. On June 3, 1965, Edward White II is the first American to walk in space on Gemini 4. He stays out 22 minutes. Manned Space Flights MANNED SPACE FLIGHTS First manned space flight (1 orbit). Mercury-Redstone 3 (USA) First American in space (suborbital). Freedom 7. Mercury-Redstone 4 (USA) Second suborbital flight; spacecraft sank, Grissom rescued. Liberty Bell 7. Vostok 2 (USSR) First flight longer than 24 hours (17 orbits). Mercury-Atlas 6 (USA) First American in orbit (3 orbits); telemetry falsely indicated heatshield unlatched. Friendship 7. Mercury-Atlas 7 (USA) Initiated space flight experiments; manual retrofire error caused 250 mile landing overshoot. Aurora 7.

Vostok 3 (USSR) First twinned flight, with Vostok 4. Vostok 4 (USSR) First twinned flight. On first orbit came within 3 miles of Vostok 3. Mercury-Atlas 8 (USA) 3-Oct-62 09h:13m Developed techniques for long duration missions (6 orbits); closest splashdown to target to date (4.5 miles). Sigma 7. Mercury-Atlas 9 (USA) 16-May-63 1d:10h:20m First U.S. evaluation of effects of one day in space (22 orbits); performed manual reentry after systems failure, landing 4 miles from target. Faith 7. Vostok 5 (USSR) Second twinned flight, with Vostok 6. Vostok 6 (USSR) First woman in space; passed within 3 miles of Vostok 5.

X-15, Flight 90 (USA) First rocket-powered aircraft to reach space (FAI definition); sub-orbital reaching 347,800 feet (106,010 m) altitude. X-15, Flight 91 (USA) Rocket-powered aircraft; sub-orbital reaching 354,200 feet (107,960 m) altitude. Voskhod 1 (USSR) Vladimir Komarov, Konstantin Feoktistov, Boris Yegorov 12-Oct-64 Modified Vostok; first three man crew in space; first without space suits. Voskhod 2 (USSR) Modified Vostok; first spacewalk by Leonov (10 min) via inflatable airlock. Gemini 3 (USA) 23-Mar-65 04h:53m First American two man crew; first piloted spacecraft to change its orbital path; first computer, allowing onboard calculation of maneuvers.

Gemini 4 (USA) 7-Jun-65 4d:01h:56m First American spacewalk by White (21 min); first US 4-day flight; manual reentry made after computer failure. Gemini 5 (USA) First use of fuel cells for electric power; evaluated guidance and navigation system. Gemini 7 (USA) 18-Dec-65 13d:18h:35m Longest US flight for 8 years (206 orbits), record until Soyuz 9; rendezvous with Gemini 6. Gemini 6 (USA) First manned rendezvous, to within 2 feet of Gemini 7 (as planned Agena was lost). Gemini 8 (USA) 17-Mar-66 10h:41m First docking (with Agena) of one space vehicle with another; emergency reentry after control malfunction; first Pacific landing.

Gemini 9 (USA) 6-Jun-66 3d:00h:21m 127 min EVA by Cernan; rendezvous but no docking with target; landed 1/2 mile from recovery ship. Gemini 10 (USA) 21-Jul-66 2d:22h:47m Docked with Agena 10 and used engine to attain record 474 mile (763 km) altitude; rendezvous with Agena 8; 39 min EVA + 49 min SEVA by Collins. Gemini 11 (USA) 15-Sep-66 2d:23h:17m Used Agena engine to attain record 850 mile (1369 km) altitude; 33 min EVA + 128 min SEVA by Gordon; connected Gemini and Agena by tether; first automatic computer-guided reentry.

Gemini 12 (USA) 15-Nov-66 3d:22h:35m Final Gemini mission; Agena docking; 126 min EVA + 2 SEVA totaling 204 min by Aldrin; first work carried out during a EVA; automatic computer-guided reentry. Soyuz 1 (USSR) Retroparachute failed to open, causing cosmonaut to be killed. Apollo 7 (USA) Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele, Walter Cunningham 11-Oct-68 22-Oct-68 10d:20h:09m First piloted flight of Apollo spacecraft, command-service module only; first US 3-man flight; live TV footage of crew. Soyuz 3 (USSR) Rendezvous with unmanned Soyuz 2.

Apollo 8 (USA) Frank Borman, James Lovell, William Anders 21-Dec-68 27-Dec-68 6d:03h:01m First manned lunar orbit and piloted lunar return reentry (CSM only); first manned Saturn V; views of lunar surface televised to Earth. Soyuz 4 (USSR) Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksei Yeliseyev (down), Yevgeni Khrunov (down) 14-Jan-69 First docking of two piloted spacecraft, with Soyuz 5. Soyuz 5 (USSR) Boris Volynov, Aleksei Yeliseyev (up), Yevgeni Khrunov (up) 15-Jan-69 Docked with Soyuz 4; Yeliseyev and Khrunov transfered by EVA to Soyuz 4.

Apollo 9 (USA) James McDivitt, David Scott, Russell Schweickart 3-Mar-69 13-Mar-69 10d:01h:01m First piloted flight of lunar module (Earth orbit); 46 min Schweickart EVA tested lunar suit + 61 min SEVA by Scott. Apollo 10 (USA) Thomas Stafford, John Young, Eugene Cernan 18-May-69 26-May-69 8d:00h:03m First lunar module orbit of Moon, descent to within 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) of Moon's surface; holds manned speed record, 6.8863 mi/s (11.0825 km/s) at atmosphere entry.

Apollo 11 (USA) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin Aldrin 16-Jul-69 24-Jul-69 8d:03h:19m First lunar landing made by Armstrong and Aldrin (20-Jul); 151 min lunar EVA; collected 48.5 lb (22 kg) of soil & rock samples; lunar stay time 21h:36m. Soyuz 6 (USSR) Rendezvous with Soyuz 7/8; first welding of metals in space. Soyuz 7 (USSR) Anatoli Filipchenko, Vladislav Volkov, Viktor Gorbatko 12-Oct-69 17-Oct-69 4d:22h:40m Triple rendezvous with Soyuz 6/8; space lab construction test made; first time 3 spacecraft, 7 crew members orbited the Earth at once. Soyuz 8 (USSR) Triple rendezvous with Soyuz 6/7; part of space lab construction team.

Apollo 12 (USA) Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, Alan Bean 14-Nov-69 24-Nov-69 10d:04h:36m Conrad and Bean made second Moon landing; 2 lunar EVAs totaling 465 min; collected 74.7 lb (33.9 kg) of samples; lunar stay time 31h:31m. Apollo 13 (USA) James Lovell, John Swigart, Fred Haise 11-Apr-70 17-Apr-70 5d:22h:55m Mission aborted following service module oxygen tank explosion; crew returned safely using lunar module; circumlunar return; holds manned altitude record, 248,665 miles (400,187 km) above Earth's surface. Soyuz 9 (USSR) 19-Jun-70 17d:16h:59m This flight marked the beginning of working in space under weightless conditions; endurance record for solo craft remains.

Apollo 14 (USA) Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, Edgar Mitchell 31-Jan-71 9-Feb-71 9d:00h:02m Shepard and Mitchell made third Moon landing; 2 lunar EVAs totaling 563 min; collected 96 lb (43.5 kg) of lunar samples; lunar stay time 33h:31m. Salyut 1 (USSR) First space station; occupied by Soyuz 11 crew for 23 days. Soyuz 10 (USSR) Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksei Yeliseyev, Nikolai Rukavishnikov 22-Apr-71 24-Apr-71 1d:23h:46m Adjustment of an improved docking bay between the spacecraft and the orbiting Salyut space station, but no cosmonauts entered the orbiting station.

Soyuz 11 (USSR) Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, Viktor Patsayev 6-Jun-71 29-Jun-71 23d:18h:22m Docked and entered Salyut 1 space station; orbited in Salyut 1 for 23 days; crew died during reentry from loss of pressurization. Apollo 15 (USA) David Scott, Alfred Worden, James Irwin 26-Jul-71 7-Aug-71 12d:07h:12m Scott and Irwin made fourth Moon landing; first lunar rover use; first deep spacewalk; 3 lunar EVAs totaling 19h:8m; 33 min SEVA by Scott; collected 170 lb (77 kg) of samples; lunar stay time 66h:54m; 38 min Worden EVA-Irwin SEVA; subsatellite released.

Apollo 16 (USA) John Young, Thomas Mattingly, Charles Duke 16-Apr-72 27-Apr-72 11d:01h:51m Young and Duke made fifth Moon landing; 3 lunar EVAs totaling 20h:14m; collected 213 lb (97 kg) of lunar samples; lunar stay time 71:14; 73 min Mattingly EVA-Duke SEVA; subsatellite released Apollo 17 (USA) Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, Harrison Schmitt 7-Dec-72 19-Dec-72 12d:13h:52m Cernan and Schmitt made sixth piloted lunar landing; 3 lunar EVAs totaling 22h:4m; collected 243 lb (110 kg) of samples; record lunar stay of 74:59; 66 min Evans EVA-Schmitt SEVA. Skylab 1 (USA) 22nd Mir long stay; Andre-Deshays (France) returned in Soyuz TM-23; two EVAs.

STS-79, Atlantis (USA) William Readdy, Terrence Wilcutt, Thomas Akers, Jay Apt, Carl Walz, John Blaha (up), Shannon Lucid (down) 16-Sep-96 26-Sep-96 10d:03h:20m Mir-Docking/4; Spacehab double module; crew exchange (Blaha for Lucid); Lucid set new U.S. space endurance record (188d:4h); EVA. STS-80, Columbia (USA) Kenneth Cockrell, Kent Rominger, Tamara Jernigan, Thomas Jones, Story Musgrave 19-Nov-96 7-Dec-96 17d:15h:54m Wake Shield Facility (3rd flight); ORFEUS-SPAS II; Space Experiment Module (SEM); EVA; 9th EDO, record duration.

STS-81, Atlantis (USA) Michael Baker, Brent Jett, Peter Wisoff, John Grunsfeld, Marsha Ivins, Jerry Linenger (up), John Blaha (down) 12-Jan-97 Mir-Docking/5; Spacehab-DM; SAREX-II; crew exchange (Linenger for Blaha). Soyuz TM-25 (Russia) Vasili Tsibliyev, Aleksander Lazutkin, Reinhold Ewald (up) 10-Feb-97 14-Aug-97 184d:22h:08m 23rd Mir long stay; Ewald (Germany) returned in Soyuz TM-24; collision with Progress 25-Jun-97; one EVA.

STS-82, Discovery (USA) Kenneth Bowersox, Scott Horowitz, Joseph Tanner, Steven Hawley, Gregory Harbaugh, Mark Lee, Steven Smith 11-Feb-97 21-Feb-97 9d:23h:38m 2nd Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission; 5 EVAs for 4 crew totaling 33h:11m, replaced 10 instruments. STS-83, Columbia (USA) James Halsell, Susan Still, Janice Voss, Michael Gernhardt, Donald Thomas, Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris 4-Apr-97 8-Apr-97 3d:23h:14m Microgravity Science Lab MSL-1 (returned 12 days early due to fuel cell problem); Reflight as STS-94.

STS-84, Atlantis (USA) Charles Precourt, Eileen Collins, Jean-Francois Clervoy, Carlos Noriega, Edward Lu, Yelena Kondakova, Michael Foale (up), Jerry Linenger (down) 15-May-97 Spacehab-SM, SPARTAN-201; John Glenn reflight. STS-88, Endeavour (USA) Robert Cabana, Frederick Sturckow, Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, James Newman, Sergei Krikalyov 4-Dec-98 16-Dec-98 11d:19h:19m 1st International Space Station (ISS) assembly flight 2A, Unity Module; 3 EVAs for 2 crew totaling 21h:22m; first habitation of ISS.

Soyuz TM-29 (Russia) Viktor Afanasyev, Jean-Pierre Haignere, Ivan Bella (up), Sergei Avdeyev (down) 20-Feb-99 28-Aug-99 188d:20h:16m 27th Mir long stay; Bella first Slovak in space, returned in Soyuz TM-28; returned Avdeyev; three EVAs. STS-96, Discovery (USA) Kent Rominger, Rick Husband, Ellen Ochoa, Tamara Jernigan, Daniel Barry, Julie Payette, Valeri Tokarev 27-May-99 6-Jun-99 9d:19h:14m 2nd ISS assembly flight 2A.1, Spacehab-DM, Starshine; first docking with ISS; 1 EVA for 2 crew totaling 7h:55m.

STS-93, Columbia (USA) Eileen Collins, Jeffrey Ashby, Steven Hawley, Catherine Coleman, Michel Tognini 23-Jul-99 6th ISS assembly flight 4A, PV Module P6; 3 EVAs for 2 crew totaling 19h:20m. STS-98, Atlantis (USA) Kenneth Cockrell, Mark Polansky, Robert Curbeam, Thomas Jones, Marsha Ivins 7-Feb-01 20-Feb-01 12d:21h:21m 7th ISS assembly flight 5A, US Lab; 3 EVAs for 2 crew totaling 19h:49m, final EVA 100th in U.S. history.

STS-102, Discovery (USA) James Wetherbee, James Kelly, Andrew Thomas, Paul Richards, Yuri Usachyov (up), James Voss (up), Susan Helms (up), William Shepherd (down), Yuri Gidzenko (down), Sergei Krikalyov (down) 8-Mar-01 21-Mar-01 12d:19h:51m 8th ISS assembly flight 5A.1, Leonardo MPLM; External Stowage Platform; delivered Expedition 2 crew (Usachyov, Voss, Helms), returned Expedition 1 crew (Shepherd, Gidzenko, Krikalyov); 2 EVAs for 4 crew totaling 15h:26m. STS-100, Endeavour (USA) Kent Rominger, Jeffrey Ashby, Chris Hadfield, Scott Parazynski, John Phillips, Umberto Guidoni, Yuri Lonchakov 19-Apr-01 Exchanged Soyuz TM-33 for TM-32 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle.

STS-108, Endeavour (USA) Dominic Gorie, Mark Kelly, Linda Godwin, Daniel Tani, Yuri Onufrienko (up), Carl Walz (up), Daniel Bursch (up), Frank Culbertson (down), Vladimir Dezhurov (down), Mikhail Tyurin (down) 5-Dec-01 17-Dec-01 11d:19h:37m ISS utilization flight UF-1, Raffaello MPLM, GAS, MACH-1; delivered Expedition 4 crew (Onufrienko, Walz, Bursch), returned Expedition 3 crew (Culbertson, Dezhurov, Tyurin); 1 EVA for 2 crew totaling 4h:12m.

STS-109, Columbia (USA) Scott Altman, Duane Carey, John Grunsfeld, Nancy Currie, James Newman, Richard Linnehan, Michael Massimino 1-Mar-02 12-Mar-02 10d:22h:11m 4th Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS); 5 EVA for 4 crew totaling 35h:55m. STS-110, Atlantis (USA) Michael Bloomfield, Stephen Frick, Jerry Ross, Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa, Lee Morin, Rex Walheim 8-Apr-02 19-Apr-02 10d:19h:44m ISS assembly flight 8A, Center Integrated Truss Assembly S0 (ITS S0), Mobile Transporter (MT); 4 EVA for 4 crew totaling 28h:22m.

Soyuz TM-34 (Russia) Yuri Gidzenko (up), Roberto Vittori (up), Mark Shuttleworth (up), Sergei Zalyotin (down), Frank De Winne (down), Yuri Lonchakov (down) 25-Apr-02 10-Nov-02 198d:17h:38m Exchanged Soyuz TM-34 for TM-33 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; Shuttleworth first South African in space and 2nd space tourist.

STS-111, Endeavour (USA) Kenneth Cockrell, Paul Lockhart, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Philippe Perrin, Valeri Korzun (up), Sergei Treschev (up), Peggy Whitson (up), Yuri Onufrienko (down), Carl Walz (down), Daniel Bursch (down) 5-Jun-02 19-Jun-02 13d:20h:36m ISS utilization flight UF-2, Leonardo MPLM, Mobile Base System (MBS); delivered Expedition 5 crew (Korzun, Treschev, Whitson), returned Expedition 4 crew (Onufrienko, Walz, Bursch); 3 EVA for 2 crew totaling 19h:31m.

STS-112, Atlantis (USA) Jeffrey Ashby, Pamela Melroy, David Wolf, Piers Sellers, Sandra Magnus, Fyodor Yurchikhin 7-Oct-02 18-Oct-02 10d:19h:59m ISS assembly flight 9A, Integrated Truss Assembly S1 (ITS S1), Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA); 3 EVA for 2 crew totaling 19h:41m. Soyuz TMA-1 (Russia) Sergei Zalyotin (up), Frank De Winne (up), Yuri Lonchakov (up), Nikolai Budarin (down), Kenneth Bowersox (down), Donald Pettit (down) 30-Oct-02 04-May-03 185d:22h:53m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-1 for TM-34 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; returned Expedition 6 crew (Bowersox, Budarin, Pettit).

STS-113, Endeavour (USA) James Wetherbee, Paul Lockhart, Michael Lopez-Alegria, John Herrington, Kenneth Bowersox (up), Nikolai Budarin (up), Donald Pettit (up), Valeri Korzun (down), Sergei Treschev (down), Peggy Whitson (down) 24-Nov-02 7-Dec-02 13d:18h:49m ISS assembly flight 11A, Integrated Truss Assembly P1 (ITS P1), CETA; delivered Expedition 6 crew (Bowersox, Budarin, Pettit), returned Expedition 5 crew (Korzun, Treschev, Whitson); 3 EVA for 2 crew totaling 19h:55m.

STS-107, Columbia (USA) Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, Ilan Ramon 16-Jan-03 1-Feb-03 15d:22h:20m Spacehab-DM, Freestar; Ramon first Israeli in space; orbiter broke up during reentry resulting in the loss of both vehicle and crew. Soyuz TMA-2 (Russia) Yuri Malenchenko, Edward Lu, Pedro Duque (down) 26-Apr-03 27-Oct-03 183d:22h:46m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-2 for TMA-1 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered & returned Expedition 7 crew (Malenchenko, Lu). Shenzhou 5 (China) 4-Oct-04 23m:56s Second of two flights to claim Ansari X-prize; suborbital reaching 367,442 feet (111,997 m) setting rocket-plane altitude record.

Soyuz TMA-5 (Russia) Salizhan Sharipov, Leroy Chiao, Yuri Shargin (up), Roberto Vittori (down) 14-Oct-04 24-Apr-05 192d:19h:02m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-5 for TMA-4 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered & returned Expedition 10 crew (Chiao, Sharipov). Soyuz TMA-6 (Russia) Sergei Krikalyov, John Phillips, Roberto Vittori (up), Gregory Olsen (down) 15-Apr-05 11-Oct-05 179d:00h:23m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-6 for TMA-5 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 11 crew (Krikalyov, Phillips).

STS-114, Discovery (USA) Eileen Collins, James Kelly, Charles Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi, Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas 26-Jul-05 09-Aug-05 13d:21h:33m ISS logistics flight LF-1, Raffaello MPLM, deployed ESP-2; test and evaluate new safety procedures; 3 EVA for 2 crew totaling 20h:05m. Soyuz TMA-7 (Russia) Valeri Tokarev, William McArthur, Gregory Olsen (up), Macros Pontes (down) 1-Oct-05 08-Apr-06 189d:19h:53m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-7 for TMA-6 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 12 crew (McArthur, Tokarev); Olsen 3rd space tourist. Shenzhou 6 (China) Second Chinese manned flight; first two man crew (76 orbits).

Soyuz TMA-8 (Russia) Pavel Vinogradov, Jeffrey Williams, Macros Pontes (up), Anousheh Ansari (down) 30-Mar-06 29-Sep-06 182d:22h:43m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-8 for TMA-7 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 13 crew (Vinogradov, Williams); Pontes first Brazilain in space. STS-121, Discovery (USA) Steve Lindsey, Mark Kelly, Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers, Thomas Reiter (up) 4-Jul-06 17-Jul-06 12d:18h:37m ISS utilization & logistics flight ULF-1.1, Leonardo MPLM, performed ISS maintenance, delivered supplies & crewmember Reiter, tested new safety equipment & procedures; 3 EVA for 2 crew totaling 21h:29m.

STS-115, Atlantis (USA) Brent Jett, Christopher Ferguson, Joseph Tanner, Daniel Burbank, Steven MacLean, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper 9-Sep-06 21-Sep-06 11d:19h:07m ISS assembly flight 12A, installed the P3/P4 integrated truss and second set of solar arrays with rotary joint; 3 EVA for 4 crew totaling 20h:19m. Soyuz TMA-9 (Russia) Mikhail Tyurin, Michael Lopez-Alegria, Anousheh Ansari (up), Charles Simonyi (down) 18-Sep-06 21-Apr-07 215d:08h:23m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-9 for TMA-8 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 14 crew (Lopez-Alegria, Tyurin). Ansari 4th space tourist (first female), first Iranian-American in space.

STS-116, Discovery (USA) Mark Polansky, William Oefelein, Robert Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham, Nicholas Patrick, Christer Fuglesang, Sunita Williams (up), Thomas Reiter (down) 9-Dec-06 22-Dec-06 12d:20h:45m ISS assembly flight 12A.1, installed the P5 integrated truss, rewired ISS power system, Spacehab-SM, exchanged crewmembers Williams & Reiter; 4 EVA for 3 crew totaling 25h:45m, record 4 EVA in one mission by Curbeam; Fuglesang first Swede in space.

Soyuz TMA-10 (Russia) Fyodor Yurchikhin, Oleg Kotov, Charles Simonyi (up), Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (down) 7-Apr-07 21-Oct-07 196d:17h:05m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-10 for TMA-9 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 15 crew (Yurchikhin, Kotov); Simonyi 5th space tourist. STS-117, Atlantis (USA) Frederick Sturchow, Lee Archambault, Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John Olivas, James Reilly, Clayton Anderson (up), Sunita Williams (down) 8-Jun-07 22-Jun-07 13d:20h:12m ISS assembly flight 13A, installed the S3/S4 integrated truss and third set of solar arrays with rotary joint, exchanged crewmembers Anderson & Williams; 4 EVA for 4 crew totaling 27h:58m.

STS-118, Endeavour (USA) Scott Kelly, Charles Hobaugh, Tracy Caldwell, Richard Mastracchio, Dafydd Williams, Barbara Morgan, B. Alvin Drew 8-Aug-07 21-Aug-07 12d:17h:56m ISS assembly flight 13A.1, installed the S5 integrated truss, deployed ESP-3, replaced CMG-3; first use of station-to-shuttle power transfer system (SSPTS); 4 EVA for 2 crew + 1 ISS crew totaling 23h:15m. Soyuz TMA-11 (Russia) Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (up), Yi So-yeon (down) 10-Oct-07 19-Apr-08 191d:19h:07m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-11 for TMA-10 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 16 crew (Whitson, Malenchenko). Shukor first Malaysian in space; Whitson first female ISS commander.

STS-120, Discovery (USA) Pamela Melroy, George Zamka, Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson, Douglas Wheelock, Paolo Nespoli, Daniel Tani (up), Clayton Anderson (down) 23-Oct-07 7-Nov-07 15d:02h:24m ISS assembly flight 10A, installed Harmony Node 2 module, relocated P6 integrated truss, exchanged crewmembers Tani & Anderson; 4 EVA for 3 crew totaling 27h:14m. STS-122, Atlantis (USA) Stephen Frick, Alan Poindexter, Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel, Stanley Love, Leopold Eyharts (up), Daniel Tani (down) 7-Feb-08 20-Feb-08 12d:18h:22m ISS assembly flight 1E, delivered ESA's Columbus Laboratory, exchanged crewmembers Eyharts & Tani; 3 EVA for 3 crew totaling 22h:08m.

STS-123, Endeavour (USA) Dominic Gorie, Gregory Johnson, Robert Behnken, Michael Foreman, Richard Linnehan, Takao Doi, Garrett Reisman (up), Leopold Eyharts (down) 11-Mar-08 27-Mar-08 15d:18h:12m ISS assembly flight 1J/A, delivered Japanese Kibo Experiment Logistics Module and Canadian Dextre Robotics System, first full utilization of SSPTS, exchanged crewmembers Reisman & Eyharts; 5 EVA for 4 crew totaling 33h:28m. Soyuz TMA-12 (Russia) Sergei Volkov, Oleg Kononenko, Yi So-yeon (up), Richard Garriott (down) 8-Apr-08 24-Oct-08 198d:16h:20m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-12 for TMA-11 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 17 crew (Volkov, Kononenko). Yi first Korean in space; Volkov first 2nd generation cosmonaut.

STS-124, Discovery (USA) Mark Kelly, Kenneth Ham, Karen Nyberg, Ronald Garan, Michael Fossum, Akihiko Hoshide, Gregory Chamitoff (up), Garrett Reisman (down) 31-May-08 14-Jun-08 13d:18h:13m ISS assembly flight 1J, delivered Japanese Kibo Pressurized Module and Remote Manipulator System, exchanged crewmembers Chamitoff & Reisman; 3 EVA for 2 crew totaling 20h:32m. Shenzhou 7 (China) Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, Jing Haipeng 25-Sep-08 28-Sep-08 2d:20h:27m First Chinese three man crew; first Chinese EVA by Zhai (20 min); released sub-satellite (40 kg).

Soyuz TMA-13 (Russia) Yuri Lonchakov, Michael Fincke, Richard Garriott (up), Charles Simonyi (down) 12-Oct-08 08-Apr-09 178d:00h:14m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-13 for TMA-12 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 18 crew (Fincke, Lonchakov). Tourist Garriott first 2nd generation American in space. STS-126, Endeavour (USA) Christopher Ferguson, Eric Boe, Donald Pettit, Stephen Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Robert Kimbrough, Sandra Magnus (up), Gregory Chamitoff (down) 15-Nov-08 30-Nov-08 15d:20h:30m ISS utilization & logistics flight ULF-2, Leonardo MPLM, delivered life support & habitability systems, performed ISS maintenance, exchanged crewmembers Magnus & Chamitoff; 4 EVA for 3 crew totaling 26h:41m.

STS-119, Discovery (USA) Lee Archambault, Dominic Antonelli, Joseph Acaba, Steven Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips, Koichi Wakata (up), Sandra Magnus (down) 15-Mar-09 28-Mar-09 12d:19h:30m ISS assembly flight 15A, installed the S6 integrated truss and fourth set of solar arrays, exchanged crewmembers Wakata & Magnus; 3 EVA for 3 crew totaling 19h:04m. Soyuz TMA-14 (Russia) Gennadi Padalka, Michael Barratt, Charles Simonyi (up), Guy Lalibert� (down) 26-Mar-09 11-Oct-09 198d:16h:42m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-14 for TMA-13 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 19/20 crew (Padalka, Barratt). Simonyi makes second trip as space tourist.

STS-125, Atlantis (USA) Scott Altman, Gregory Johnson, Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel 11-May-09 Fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission (last planned); 5 EVAs for 4 crew totaling 36h:56m. Soyuz TMA-15 (Russia) Roman Romanenko, Frank De Winne, Robert Thirsk 27-May-09 1-Dec-09 187d:20h:41m Delivered Expedition 20/21 crew; remained docked to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle. Start of six-person crew operations on ISS.

STS-127, Endeavour (USA) Mark Polansky, Douglas Hurley, Christopher Cassidy, Julie Payette, Thomas Marshburn, David Wolf, Timothy Kopra (up), Koichi Wakata (down) 15-Jun-09 31-Jul-09 15d:16h:45m ISS assembly flight 2J/A, delivered Japanese Kibo Exposed Facility and Exposed Section of Experiment Logistics Module, exchanged crewmembers Kopra & Wakata; 5 EVAs for 4 crew totaling 30h:30m. STS-128, Discovery (USA) Frederick Sturckow, Kevin Ford, Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Christer Fuglesang, John Olivas, Nicole Stott (up), Timothy Kopra (down) 29-Aug-09 12-Sep-09 13d:20h:54m ISS assembly flight 17A, Leonardo MPLM, Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier, exchanged crewmembers Stott & Kopra; 3 EVAs for 3 crew totaling 20h:15m.

Soyuz TMA-16 (Russia) Maksim Surayev, Jeffrey Williams, Guy Lalibert� (up) 30-Sep-09 18-Mar-10 169d:04h:10m Exchanged Soyuz TMA-16 for TMA-14 to serve ISS as emergency escape vehicle; delivered Expedition 21/22 crew (Williams, Surayev). Lalibert� first Canadian space tourist. STS-129, Atlantis (USA) Charles Hobaugh, Barry Wilmore, Leland Melvin, Randolph Bresnik, Michael Foreman, Robert Satcher, Nicole Stott (down) 16-Nov-09 27-Nov-09 10d:19h:16m ISS utilization & logistics flight ULF-3, ExPRESS Logistic Carriers ELC-1 & ELC-2, delivered spare components; 3 EVAs for 3 crew totaling 18h:27m. Soyuz TMA-17 (Russia) Oleg Kotov, Timothy Creamer, Soichi Noguchi 20-Dec-09

Question: Three weeks after the USSR launched the first man into space what craft did the USA launch, with its first manned space flight?
Answer: Mercury-Redstone 3