V-2 rocket During World War II the Nazis developed the V-2 rocket a terrifying long-range missile that traveled at the speed of sound After the war Allied soldiers captured the Nazi V-2 factories the rocket plans and the scientists working on them Later scientists in both the United States and the Soviet Union developed the V-2 into a larger rocket that could reach space
Nazi V-2 rockets like this one were shipped to the United States after World War II so that they would not fall into Soviet hands LEARNING TO FLY
At 21 years old Gagarin trained to become a fighter pilot at Orenburg Pilots School He also met and married Valentina Goryacheva After Gagarin graduated the young couple was stationed at Nikel Air Base in Murmansk Nikel was a cold desolate place only 186 miles 300 kilometers from the Arctic Circle Valentina had to raise their first child during long dark winters in subzero temperatures Gagarin had to fly MiG jets through blinding snow and land on slippery black ice One of his fellow pilots died in a crash within his first month at Nikel The jet-powered MiG-15 had swept-back wings a tail fin and stabilizers to help it reach the speed of sound
Sputnik 1 was made of the same lightweight aluminum alloy that airplanes are made from today Sputnik 1 On October 4 1957 the Soviet Union became the first nation to launch a satellite into space Sputnik 1 was a small metal ball with four radio antennae that sent back information about Earth’s atmosphere The beeps made by Sputnik 1 were picked up by radio receivers around the world
