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The Sixties saw spaceflight change from being the subject of
science fiction stories in boys' comics into startling, exciting,
scientific fact. Prior to 1960 there had been a number of experimental
vehicles launched but flights involving animals had been comparatively
unsuccessful. Even when the Russians managed to put two Samoyed
dogs, Belka and Strelka, into orbit for 24 hours in August 1960
and brought them back alive it was still questionable whether
manned spaceflight would be possible.
The Russians are believed to have made four unsuccessful manned
space shots prior to 1961 in which it is thought that cosmonauts
Serentsky Schiborin, Andrei Mitkov, Alexis Ledovski and Ivan
Kachur lost their lives. The world suddenly became a much smaller
place on 12th April 1961 when Major Yuri Alexeyevitch Gagarin
blasted off in Vostok 1 at 07:07
hrs from the Baikonur site in Siberia to become, shortly afterwards,
the first man into orbit.
The United States and the U.S.S.R. spent huge amounts of money
trying to outdo each other in the 'race for space', a contest
which drove scientific advancement along at a phenomenal pace,
providing new materials and technologies such as 'Teflon' and
the laser. The spaceflight programme also brought us new heroes,
tragedy and excitement which peaked with the first manned lunar
landing on the Sea of Tranquillity at 09:18 BST on 20th July
1969. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the surface
of the moon at 03:56 BST on 21st July 1969, causing millions
of us to stay up all night watching the television reports and
live picture coverage. |
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SixtiesCity
2007