Page 2 - The First Men In Space
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A 1961 desk statue in honor of Yuri Gagarin's sucessful flight. About 9 inches tall. Purchased from a Russian dealer. | A 1961 Soviet cigarette case in honor of Yuri Gagarin's sucessful flight. From a Russian dealer. |
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A small 1961 Soviet desk thermometer showing Gargarin and Titov
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America's first astronaut was Alan B. Shepard who flew aboard "Freedom 7" on May 5, 1961. Our first program of sending astronauts into space was the Mercury Program. He was followed by Gus Grissom on July 21, 1961 in "Liberty Bell 7"
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The second cosmonaut to fly was Germain Titov who stayed in spacefor over 25 hours aboard Vostok II. He went up on August 6, 1961
Engineers were really excited about going into space.
The next generation of larger U.S. rockets that would hopefully carry man into space were the “Atlas” rockets. One was successfully launched in December, 1958, but the reliability of the rocket had yet to be proven. We were using our existing hardware to loft satellites into space. One of the reasons for this conservative approach was the lack of money devoted to space research. It is here that the public’s fascination with games, toys and space theme entertainment helped to prod the leaders of our country to devote more money and manpower to our racing for the stars. For the public, space travel seemed real and they were ready to go. They wanted to know why the United States was dragging its feet and lagging behind in the space program.
With the pride in America at an all time high, politicians knew that riding the coattails of this public support was good for votes. The only problem was that the Soviets seemed very much ahead of us. Our spirit of competition demanded that we come in first. After much discussion with his advisors, the President of the United States agreed that the only way that we could beat the Soviet Union in the space race was to go for the moon. The decision was made. President Kennedy announced in May of 1961 that we would put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. With this announcement came the funding for the space program. Billions of dollars (back in the days when a billion dollars was a lot of money) would have to be committed. America was now truly in the space race.
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America's first real hero spaceman was John Glenn. He was the first American to orbit the Earth aboard "Friendship 7" on February 20, 1962.
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Toys were created for John Glenn's famous flight such as this Friendship 7 space capsule. The astronaut turned around as the toy moved across the floor. It is 10 inches long and made in Japan by Horikowa.
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A group of larger (4 inch) John Glenn buttons. The one on the left is especially difficult to find. |
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The Soviet Union was very busy in 1962. They were the | first to fly two missions at the same time with Vostok 3 and Vostok 4 on August 11th. |
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The souvenirs and toys produced during the space race are reminders of the joy of exploring the new frontier. "Welcome Back Astronaut" buttons were produced for many of the Mercury program space shots. The wearing of a button on your shirt or jacket showed that you cared about the men risking their lives to further our exploration of space. The Mercury 7 astronauts each took their turn on a mission (with the exception of Deke Slayton, due to a possible heart murmur) and were welcomed home as our new heros. As the Mercury program drew to a close, we prepared for the Gemini phase - two astronauts to a capsule.
This chart can be used to help date the different space items that may be found.
Name Date Event Country Vostok 1 Mercury
Mercury
Vostok 2
Mercury
Mercury
Vostok 3
Vostok 4
Mercury
Mercury
Vostok 6
Ranger 7
Voskhod I
Mariner 4
Voskhod II
April 12, 1961 May 5, 1961
Jul.21, 1961
Aug. 6, 1961
Feb. 20, 1962
May 24, 1962
Aug. 11, 1962
Aug. 12, 1962
October 3, 1962
May 15, 1963
Jun. 16, 1963
Jul. 28, 1964
Oct. 12, 1964
Nov. 28, 1964
Mar. 18, 1965
1st manned Orbital flight - Yuri Gagarin 1st U.S. manned flight - Alan Shepard
2nd U.S. manned flight - Gus Grissom
2nd manned orbital flight - Gherman Titov
1st U.S. manned orbital flight - John Glenn
Manned orbital flight - Scott Carpenter
Two flights together - Nikolayev and below
Two flights together - Popovich and above
Manned orbital flight - Wally Schirra
Manned orbital flight - Gordon Cooper
1st woman in space - Valentina Tereshkova
1st rocket to moon
Three men in one capsule
1st close range phots of Mars on 7/14/65
1st space walk - Alexei Leonov
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More Space memorabilia - Page One
More Space memorabilia - Page Three
More Space memorabilia - Page Four
More Space memorabilia - Page Five
Space memorabilia For Sale - Page Six