Today, the idea of an American going aloft in a Russian spaceship is as common as Russian tourists at the Statue of Liberty or American tourists at the Kremlin.

But sixty years ago, the notion of a man going into space — Soviet or American — was as unlikely as a man going into space. Up until April 12, 1961, it was just the stuff of science fiction.

Presently, it is hard to believe there was a real “Space Race” between America and the USSR. It was initiated in many ways by our young, hyper-competitive president, John F. Kennedy.

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