On this day in 1961 Yuri Gagarin a 27 year old Soviet cosmonaut made the first successful manned space flight. During his flight aboard the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 1 Gargarin also became the first man to orbit the planet. This was another wake up call for the United States. The U.S. at this point was lagging behind the Soviets. Sometimes you back away from a challange. Sometimes you step up and face the challange. America faced the challange.

In 1963 President Kennedy would give a speech calling for the U.S. to send a man to the moon and back before the end of the decade. I wonder had he not been assassinated, if this would have happened? I think his assassination inspired the nation and NASA to ‘do it for President Kennedy.” Incredibly we made it to the moon before the decade was up. The greatest achievement of the 2oth Century.