A slight introduction to space exploration (Last seven decades)

The earliest practical work on rocket engines designed for spaceflight occurred simultaneously during the early 20th century in Russia, The United States and Germany. This last one saw the possibilities of using long-distance rockets as weapons so as to attack London by 200-mile-range V-2 missiles, which arched 60 miles high over the English Channel at more than 3,500 miles per hour. Meanwhile, The United States and the Soviet Union created their own missile programs. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. Four years later on April 12, 1961, Russian Lt. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth in Vostok 1. The United States, in turn, put into orbit its first satellite, Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958. In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into space. On February 20, 1962, John Glenn’s historic flight made him the first American to orbit Earth.