1960s Timeline

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Aug 21, 2021

Scientists View Space Explosion that Happened 800 Million Years Ago

Aug. 21, 1961 - News of a gigantic explosion in space has just reached earth. A star, perhaps about the size of our sun, suddenly...

Aug 19, 2021

Mercury-Atlas 4, Carrying Robot, Set to Launch into Orbit this Week

Aug. 19, 1961 - A Mercury capsule called Mercury-Atlas 4 (pictured) carrying robot devices that breathe, perspire, and talk is scheduled...

Aug 18, 2021

After Orbital Flight, NASA to Move from Project Mercury to Apollo

Aug. 18, 1961 - NASA has decided to omit further suborbital flights. Instead, it will concentrate on an orbit of the earth with a manned...

Aug 12, 2021

NASA Deemed Sluggish Out of the Gate in All-Out Race to Moon

Aug. 12, 1961 - Nearly three months after President Kennedy called for an all-out race to the moon, there is no one in direct charge of...

Aug 6, 2021

NASA hopes to Put American Spaceman in Orbit by End of Year

Aug. 6, 1961 - The earliest the U.S. can now figure on putting a man in orbit is toward the end of the year, according to Project Mercury...

Aug 6, 2021

Second Russian Astronaut Returns Safely to Earth

Aug. 6, 1961 - A Soviet spaceship that carried the second Russian astronaut landed safely today after orbiting the earth more than 17...

Aug 5, 2021

Soviets Put Second Man Into Space

Aug. 5, 1961 - The Soviet Union put its second manned spaceship into round-the-earth orbit today, Tass press agency said. Tass said the...

Jul 25, 2021

TV Networks Clarify Policy on Taped Segments after NASA Telecast Controversy

July 25, 1961 - NBC-TV made known today its plans to avoid the confusion that led to criticism of the telecast of the astronaut launching...

Jul 22, 2021

Grissom: Everyone Should Take Space Trip, View "Fascinating"

July 22, 1961 - Capt. Virgil I. Grissom (center) disclosed today he had been "scared" during much of his flight into space yesterday. But...

Jul 21, 2021

Goldwater Proud of Astronaut Grissom

July 21, 1961 - The nation's capital, from President Kennedy to the man in the street, joined today in praise for Capt. Virgil I. Grissom...

Jul 21, 2021

President Kennedy Watches Grissom Flight, Calls to Congratulate Astronaut

July 21, 1961 - President Kennedy watched the space flight of Capt. Virgil I. Grissom (pictured center) on television this morning. Then...

Jul 21, 2021

Grissom Spaceflight a Success

🚨July 21, 1961 - Virgil I. Grissom became the nation's second space explorer today. The Air Force captain rocketed aboard a Mercury...

Jul 19, 2021

Grissom's Spaceflight Postponed Due to Weather

July 19, 1961 - Capt. Virgil I. Grissom spent four hours atop a Redstone missile today, ready for a ride into space that was blocked by...

Jul 19, 2021

Congress Backs Kennedy's Space Goal: the Moon before 1970

July 19, 1961 - President Kennedy's sharp acceleration of the race for the moon won resounding approval today from a Senate-House...

Jul 14, 2021

Grissom Likely Choice for Next Week's Spaceflight

July 14, 1961 - Two astronauts intensified preparation today for a rocket flight that will send one of them briefly into space next week....

Jul 13, 2021

Soviet Astronaut Gagarin Mobbed in London

July 13, 1961 - Maj. Yuri A. Gagarin, the Soviet Union's hero of space and now the darling of Londoners, was "imprisoned" in the Tower of...

Jul 12, 2021

TV: Color Film of Shepard Spaceflight to Air on NBC

July 12, 1961 - A color film of the first American astronaut's flight into space will be presented by NBC on Sunday. The account was...

Jul 12, 2021

NASA Sub-Orbital Flight Set for Tuesday

July 12, 1961 - Two candidates for the second manned U.S. spaceflight tested their reflexes today. Marine Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr....

Jul 11, 2021

Russian Astronaut Gagarin on BBC-TV (Video)

July 11, 1961 - Here is video of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, being interviewed on BBC Television: #space #NASA...