Yuri Gagarin in 1961 was the first human to travel in space. A Soviet cosmonaut, Gagarin was aboard Vostok I and spent 108 minutes in space.
Space Shuttle’s first flight occurred in 1981. Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen guided the space shuttle Columbia around the earth 36 times before landing the craft at Edwards Air Force Base in California on April 14. Idea: Children could find out how the shuttle differed from the previous types of space exploration. Children could explore an index of the 135 Space Shuttle Missions at: Index.
Jake Garn became the first senator to travel in space. He was a payload specialist of a Discovery STS-51-D crew that was launched in 1985. The crew spent almost seven days in space. Children could learn more about his Space Shuttle mission at: Jake Garn.
These three important space travel events happened on this day. Children could make a timeline of significant space explorations.