Today, Roscosmos is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Vostok-1 mission, which launched Yuri Gagarin and the first human spaceflight, while NASA simultaneously commemorates the 40th anniversary of the first launch of the world’s first reusable spacecraft, when John Young and Bob Crippen embarked on the most ambitious test flight in history aboard the shuttle Columbia.
The anniversaries arrive at a crucial turning point in space exploration, as more and more emphasis shifts to the commercial development of the space industry as well as the establishment of multiple, sustainable destinations both in and beyond Earth orbit.