英语新闻与报道—News & Reports 101（在线收听）

 Wk 15 (12 April 1961)

Russia Sends First Man Into SpaceThis Week in HistoryRussian cosmonaut Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin becomes the first man to fly into space.

In 1961, Russia beat the U.S.A. in the race to get the first man into space, winning the so-called "space race". The spacecraft Vostok (East) was launched from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan in what was then part of Soviet central Asia. Major Gagarin orbited the Earth for 108 minutes travelling at more than 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometres per hour) before returning safely to Earth.