May 5,1961:The First American in Space

摘要

When Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter outer space on April 12, 1961, it was a triumph not only for the Soviet Union, but for humanity as a whole. While the Soviets may have beaten the United States in reaching this major milestone of the Space Race, the United States didn't lag far behind with the successful launch of Navy Commander Alan Shepard into a suborbital flight aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft on May 5. While Shepard's flight only lasted 15 minutes and did not orbit the Earth, as Gagarin's did, Shepard did have manual control over his spacecraft, something his cosmonaut counterpart did not have.