The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program.Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development. By The Associated Press. His flight, on April 12, 1961, lasted 108 minutes as he circled the Earth for a little more than one orbit in the Soviet Union's Vostok spacecraft . The SLS rocket is expected to make its first flight in 2021. On February 20, 1962, John Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit Earth. The United Arab Emirates has sent its first astronaut to space. Experts estimated the chance of successfully entering Mars … April 29, 2021, 3:25 AM • 1 min read. With the success of "Mangalyaan", India has become the first country in the world to go to Mars in the very first try. 29, … When Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor became the first Malaysian to go to space in 2007, Malaysians scrutinized the nomenclature of NASA officials who went back and … Yuri Gagarin was the first person to fly in space. Although China did not participate in the space race of the mid-20th century, the country had begun to pursue space travel by the late 1950s. Brendon Hong Updated Jul. The 1957 launch of Sputnik and subsequent Russian firsts in space convinced many U.S. policymakers that the country had fallen dangerously behind its Cold War rival. China sees space exploration as a zero-sum game with other nations and its mission to Mars is just the first step in flexing its astral superpowers. The launch vehicle is designed for deep space missions and will provide the power to help the Orion spacecraft reach a speed of at least 24,500 mph needed to break out of low-Earth orbit and travel to the Moon. The history of space exploration in China stretches back to 900 A.D., when innovators in the country pioneered the first rudimentary rockets. The China National Space Administration sent the first Chinese astronaut into space in 2003. The first human to go into space, Yuri Gagarin, was launched, again by the Soviet Union, for a one-orbit journey around Earth on April 12, 1961. The success of the mission makes the UAE the first Arab country and the fifth globally to reach the red planet. Space exploration - Space exploration - Major milestones: The first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. China launches core module as work begins on country's first permanent space station to host astronauts long-term.