Space Exploration

The 'space race'
The first edition of Guinness World Records was published six years before the first manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagrin{USSR} in 1961.In  a special address to the US congress in the same year,President John F Kennedy{USA} announced the ambitious goal  of landing an American on the  Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s.
This sparked the 'space race' between the US and the USSR that dominated the latter half of the 20th century, such that by the end of 2004- a mere 101 years since the first flight by Orville Wright {USA}-man has stood on the serface of the moon and sent probes to other planets and there is now a permanent space station orbiting Earth.
Early Landmarks.
The first man-made object to orbit the Earth was Sputnik 1,launched by the {USSR} on 4 October  1957.It remained in orbit until 4 january 1958.This was followed by  Sputnik 2, 3 november 1957,which remained in orbit until 4 april 1958.