April, 12 1961 2 of 23    Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is the first person to orbit Earth in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. The flight lasted two hours.			Main: Return to Flight Making the Shuttle Fit to Fly Risks of Manned Spaceflight Next Generation Space Vessel Slide Show: Evolution of Spaceflight Interactive: Shuttle Upgrades Lesson Plan Archive
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