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>> The Russians chalk up another victory in the space race as they put two manned
spacecraft into orbit within 24 hours of each other.
Colonel Pavel Popovich And Major Andrea Nikayev follow in the footsteps of
two other Russian astronauts, Titov and Gagarin, and
thus give the Soviets four manned orbital flights against two for the United States.
Within 72 hours, the first men aloft traveled more than a million miles,
four times the distance to the moon,
a distance it would take a jet airliner two and a half months to fly.
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As Vostok third orbited, Vostok four followed on its heels,
at one time within 75 miles, proving that a contact in outer space was possible.
Tracking stations indicate that there is little doubt of the success of the Russian
feat that is seen as two years ahead of the US effort.
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The Soviets made the most of the flight in their worldwide propaganda and
televised pictures of the astronauts from outer space.
Naturally, there was jubilation in Russia and
the crowds followed the progress of the new heroes in Red Square.
Other troubles were forgotten.
>> On June 14, 1963, Valery Bykovsky blasted off on the Vostok 5 mission,
and two days later, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.
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Tereshkova orbited the Earth for almost three days.
As an historical oddity, Tereshkova landed far from the intended landing site,
was helped out of her spacesuit by local villagers, and
accepted their invitation to dinner, an action she was later reprimanded for.
Despite this, she was quickly honored as a national hero, and
served as an inspiration to millions of women and girls around the world.
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