![]() ![]() ![]() managing to successfully orbit one of their astronauts, John Glenn, earlier that year. The simultaneous spacecraft were a response to the U.S. Cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev rode on Vostok 3 and Pavel Popovich flew aboard Vostok 4. Vostok 3 and 4 was a daring double mission in which two separate spacecraft launched within a day of each other, on Aug. The Soviet Union's powerful Vostok launch vehicle put cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's capsule high enough for one 108-minute orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961. The anniversary of his flight is commemorated as "Cosmonautics day" in Russia. Gagarin became a national and international hero, with hundreds of thousands of people cheering him during a celebratory parade in Red Square, a public plaza in Moscow. After reentry, Gagarin ejected from the spacecraft about 4 miles (7 kilometers) up and parachuted to the ground, landing in a potato field and startling a farmer and her granddaughter, according to. The Vostok spacecraft had no real maneuvering capabilities and couldn't land on its own. During that first flight, the capsule contained 10 days' worth of provisions in case the engines failed and Gagarin was required to wait for the orbit to naturally decay. It sported two windows: One above the cosmonaut's head in the entry hatch and one at his feet. The cramped Vostok cabin was only about 8 feet (2.5 m) in diameter and made of aluminum alloy. In case of an emergency, Gagarin was given an override code allowing him to take manual control. Gagarin's flight lasted a short 108 minutes, as he travelled once around our planet before reentering the atmosphere.īecause engineers were uncertain about how weightlessness would affect Gagarin, the spherical one-person Vostok capsule had little in the way of onboard controls, with most actions being coordinated by planners on the ground. History was made on Apwhen Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space and orbit the Earth during the Vostok 1 mission. On 21JUL1961, another Mercury-Redstone launched Virgil Gus Grissom into space.Vostok 1 and Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space ![]() On 5MAY1961, a Mercury-Redstone launched America's first astronaut, Alan Sheppard, into space. The rocket was used to launch Mercury capsules on suborbital trajectories into space. The first successful Mercury-Redstone rocket flew on 19DEC1960. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2007) Mercury-Redstone Although this spacecraft is flight-rated, it was not flown. Mercury Capsule on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2008) Mercury Capsule 17 (Unflown) Mercury 15B (Freedom 7 II) Capsule on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2009) Mercury 15B Capsule (Unflown) This spacecraft served as a backup for Wally Schirra's MA-8 (Sigma 7) mission. Mercury Capsule 12B on display at Kennedy Space Center. (Photos: Kevin Barrett, 2009) Mercury Capsule 12B (Unflown) Launched on May 15, 1963, astronaut Gordon Cooper conducted 22.5 orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-9 (Faith 7) Capsule on display at Space Center Houston. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2009) Mercury MA-9 Capsule Launched on October 3, 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra conducted six orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-8 (Sigma 7) Capsule on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2008) Mercury MA-8 Capsule Launched on May 24, 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter conducted three orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-7 (Aurora 7) Capsule on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. (Photos: Richard Kruse, 2008) Mercury MA-7 Capsule Launched on February 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn conducted three orbits in this spacecraft. Mercury MA-6 (Friendship 7) Capsule on display at the National Air and Space Museum. (Photos: John Karpiej, 2005) Mercury MA-6 Capsule Launched on July 21, 1961, astronaut Gus Grissom conducted a sub-orbital flight in this spacecraft. Suborbital missions were launched using Redstone rockets, while orbital flights were made using Atlas launchers. Two suborbital missions were followed by four orbital missions. ![]() The program included a number of unmanned test flights, some including primates, prior to flying human astronauts.Ī total of six manned missions were flown. Started in 1958, Project Mercury was the United States' first manned spacecraft program. ![]()
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