360What happened in 1961?
10 moments from 1961 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- History · 12 April 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
On 12 April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth once in the spacecraft Vostok 1, becoming the first human in space. The flight lasted 108 minutes. As he lifted off, he said, 'Poyekhali!', meaning 'Let's go!' His journey opened the era of human spaceflight.
- On this day · 12 April 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
On 12 April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth once in Vostok 1, in a flight of 108 minutes. As he lifted off, he said: 'Poyekhali!', 'Let's go!' The date is marked every year by the United Nations as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
- On this day · 5 May 1961
Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space
On 5 May 1961, the astronaut Alan Shepard flew into space aboard Freedom 7, a 15-minute flight that rose about 187 km before splashing down in the Atlantic. Ten years later, he walked on the Moon with Apollo 14, and famously hit two golf balls there.
- 13 August 1961 · from Germany is reunified
The Berlin Wall is built
- 13 August 1961 · from The Berlin Wall falls
Construction of the wall begins
- 1961 · from Humans walk on the Moon for the first time
President Kennedy sets the goal of landing on the Moon
- 12 April 1961 · from Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
Gagarin's first human spaceflight
- 12 April 1961 · from Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
Vostok 1 flight
- 5 May 1961 · from Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
Alan Shepard's flight
- 1961 · from The 1960s: the first astronaut and the Moon landing
Gagarin orbits the Earth