SpaceRace Logo

Topics
Space Race Home
Introduction
Military Origins
Racing to the Moon
Satellite Reconnaissance
A Permanent Presence
Illustrations

Previous pageNext page
The Race Begins
Competitors in the Race
Vostok and Voskhod
Mercury and Gemini
Space Suits
A Soviet Moonshot?
Apollo Lunar Suit
The Moon Rocket Challenge
The Moon Race Ends
 

NATIONAL HEROES

Russia's cosmonauts and America's astronauts became the most visible symbols of the Space Race. These young space pilots were celebrated as national heroes, and their flights were widely heralded around the world.

FIRST COSMONAUTS

This informal autographed portrait of the Vostok cosmonauts dates from the early 1960s. From left to right: Pavel Popovich, Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova, Valery Bykovsky, Andrian Nikolayev, and Gherman Titov. All but Tereshkova were military pilots.

Courtesy of The Perot Foundation
cosmonaut group photo
141 k jpeg

FIRST ASTRONAUTS

The Mercury 7 astronauts were selected and introduced to the public in 1959. All were military test pilots. From left to right: Walter Schirra, Donald Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Gordon Cooper.
Mercury 7 group
244 k jpeg
NASA#: 67-HC-778

Sergei Korolev Previous page Next page Vostok
Space Race > Racing to the Moon > Competitors in the Race > 1-2 >> Vostok and Voskhod


Space Race Home
Introduction | Military Origins | Racing To the Moon | Satellite Reconnaissance | Permanent Presence | Illustrations