Russia Continues to Surpass Americans in the Space Race

A couple years later in 1961, Russia then became the first country to have a man orbit the earth, Yuri Gagarin, who road aboard the space craft Vostok. This again astonished the international community, who were surprised that such a feat never tried before could be accomplished.  While the Russians were orbiting the earth, the American Alan Shepard was launched just 115 miles into space, not even going close to the distance Russia's dog had traveled two years prior; and he landed in the Atlantic Ocean 15 minutes later.  Meanwhile, Russia again had nother first in 1961, when its interplanetary probe Venera-1 was launched to Venus.

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In 1962, America became the second country to have a man of its own in orbit around the earth, John Glenn.  Parades greeted John Glenn when he returned. Due to his notoriety, he later became a U.S. Senator because Americans care more for celebrity status than fit politicians.

President John F. Kennedy at this time said America would have a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.  He was later assassinated in 1964, leaving his dream of having a man on the moon to be fulfilled by others.

In 1962, Russia was the first nation to have two rockets with cosmonauts in outer space at the same time.  It was known as the first "formation flying" in space when the two manned spacecraft, Vostok-3 and Vostok-4, traveled near each other in unison.

In 1963 Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.  She was aboard the Vostok-6.  Not only was this significant by the fact that she was a woman, but she was also just a regular person, who had worked at a textile factory.  So she was also the first public citizen in space, not being the typical cosmonaut.

In 1964, trying to duplicate what Russia had done back in 1959, America launched the Ranger VII, which took pictures of the moon and then crash-landed into it.  Nevertheless, it did send some interesting images of the moon, close-up images that attracted a great deal of curiosity to Americans, who might have only been able to have seen such images if Russia had shared theirs.

In 1964, Russia became the first nation to have launched two satellites, Elektron-1 and Electron-2, while just using one rocket.

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