What were some important milestones in space travel?

April 12 marks two huge milestones in the history of human spaceflight. On that date in 1961, the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin became the first person in history to reach outer space. And exactly 20 years later, NASA launched the first space shuttle mission, debuting the workhorse vehicle that would carry astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit for the next three decades.

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Space exploration- october 4, 1957
sputnik I launched by soviet union- april 12, 1961
soviet astronaut (Yuri Gagarin) orbits earth in 108 minutes- april 12, 1961
americans launch alan shepard jr into space- may 25, 1961
man walks on the moon (buzz aldrin and neil armstrong)- july 20, 1969
sally ride is the first woman in space- june 18, 1983
american and russian crew begin living aboard the international space station- november 2, 2000
final space shuttle mission ends- july 21, 2011