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April 12, 1961 - The Space Race begins (Read 1987 times)

Apr 12^th, 2010 at 9:45pm

Webb Ex Member
I Like Flight Simulation!

In April 1961, in a field near the village of Smelovaka in Russia, two farm workers look up to see a man parachuting down towards them. He is wearing a bright orange suit and a white helmet. When he lands they approach him and ask "Have you come from outer space?"

"Yes, yes, would you believe it' he answered with a big grin, "I certainly have".

The man in the orange space suit was Yuri Gagarin and he was indeed returning to earth after becoming the first man to travel in space.

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Reply #1 - May 5^th, 2010 at 1:14am

Webb Ex Member
I Like Flight Simulation!

May 5, 1961 - Freedom 7

Mercury-Redstone 3 was a U.S. Mercury program human crewed space mission launched on May 5, 1961 using a Redstone rocket, from Launch Complex 5 (LC-5) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury spacecraft was named Freedom 7 which performed a suborbital flight piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard, who became the first American in space as a result of this mission. The flight lasted less than 16 minutes and attained an altitude of just over 187 kilometres (116 mi).

Unlike the earlier Soviet Vostok 1 flight, Shepard did not orbit the earth, but simply went up and down, which requires a less powerful rocket and simpler guidance. He did, however, become the first astronaut to safely return to Earth inside his vehicle. In the Vostok 1 mission, the Soviet cosmonaut parachuted out of his vehicle prior to landing. Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev criticized Freedom 7 as a mere 'flea hop' compared to the recent flight of Vostok 1 and its pilot Yuri Gagarin.

Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. Alan Shepard completed the first space flight (landed inside of his vehicle).

This disqualifying fact was covered up by the Soviet Union for so long that Yuri Gagarin is universally credited with the first completed space flight.

I think anyone with the balls to jump out of the world's first space capsule at 20,000 feet deserves whatever honors he's received.

Why Yuri Gagarin Remains the First Man in Space, Even Though He Did Not Land Inside His Spacecraft

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Reply #2 - May 5^th, 2010 at 12:57pm

H Offline
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_{It was April 12... why would Gagarin dare go down with his ship?*

* 1912}

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Reply #3 - May 23^rd, 2010 at 12:13am

Webb Ex Member
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May 25, 1961

The brash young American president commits his nation ...

Quote:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

Video

Text

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Reply #4 - Jul 20^th, 2010 at 10:10pm

Webb Ex Member
I Like Flight Simulation!

July 21, 1961 - Liberty Bell 7

Mercury-Redstone 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket. Its spacecraft was named Liberty Bell 7 and performed a suborbital flight piloted by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom. It reached an altitude of over 118.26 mi (190 km) and traveled about 300 mi (480 km).

The spacecraft was lost at sea for 40 years amid controversy that Grissom panicked and blew the hatch prematurely.

Gus Grissom made one space flight after Liberty Bell 7, as commander of Gemini 3, the first manned Project Gemini flight. He died in the Apollo 1 fire.

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Reply #5 - Feb 20^th, 2011 at 1:48pm

Webb Offline
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February 20, 1962 - Friendship 7

Seven months after Gus Grissom's flight America was ready to attempt to put a human in orbit.

Marine Corps pilot John Glenn orbited the Earth three times over five hours in space.

On October 29, 1998, he became the oldest person to fly in space, and the only one to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs, when at age 77, he flew on Discovery (STS-95). John Glenn is alive and well and resides in Cambridge, Ohio.

A bad day at golf is better than a good day at work.

Jim

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Reply #6 - Mar 10^th, 2011 at 1:38am

BigTruck Offline
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Webb wrote on Feb 20^th, 2011 at 1:48pm:

February 20, 1962 - Friendship 7

Seven months after Gus Grissom's flight America was ready to attempt to put a human in orbit.

Marine Corps pilot John Glenn orbited the Earth three times over five hours in space.

[img]

On October 29, 1998, he became the oldest person to fly in space, and the only one to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs, when at age 77, he flew on Discovery (STS-95). John Glenn is alive and well and resides in Cambridge, Ohio.

OohRah!

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