In 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth.
Yuri Gagarin made a 108-minute orbital flight in his Vostok 1 spacecraft.
Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space less than a month later. The Space Race was in full swing.
Learn more at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/sts1/gagarin_anniversary.html
