April 12th marks the anniversary of two huge firsts in space exploration: The launch of a human into
April 12th marks the anniversary of two huge firsts in space exploration: The launch of a human into space, and the launch of a reusable space shuttle. The human in question was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who piloted the Vostok 1 into Earth’s orbit in 1961. The space shuttle in question was NASA’s Columbia, seen here lifting off in the control of Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen in 1981. Learn more in How the Space Race Worked. [Photo credits: NASA and more NASA] -- source link
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