Gemini 4Gemini 4 (officially Gemini IV) was the second crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth crewed American spaceflight (including two X-15 flights at altitudes exceeding ). Astronauts James McDivitt and Ed White circled the Earth 66 times in four days, making it the first US flight to approach the five-day flight of the Soviet Vostok 5. The highlight of the mission was the first space walk by an American, during which White floated free outside the spacecraft, tethered to it, for approximately 23 minutes.
Hero of the Soviet UnionThe title Hero of the Soviet Union (Герой Советского Союза) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The award was established on 16 April 1934, by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union. The first recipients of the title originally received only the Order of Lenin, the highest Soviet award, along with a certificate (грамота, gramota) describing the heroic deed from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Saratov OblastSaratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 2,521,892. The oblast is located in the southeast of European Russia, in the northern part of the Lower Volga region. From west to east its territory stretches for , and from north to south for . The highest point of Saratov Oblast is an unnamed hill of the Khvalynsk Mountains reaching above sea level.
Luna 3Luna 3, or E-2A No.1 () was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1959 as part of the Luna programme. It was the first mission to photograph the far side of the Moon and the third Soviet space probe to be sent to the neighborhood of the Moon. Though it returned rather poor pictures, the historic, never-before-seen views of the far side of the Moon caused excitement and interest when they were published around the world, and a tentative Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon was created after image processing improved the pictures.
Salyut 1Salyut 1 (DOS-1) (Салют-1) was the world's first space station launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program followed this with five more successful launches of seven more stations. The final module of the program, Zvezda (DOS-8), became the core of the Russian segment of the International Space Station and remains in orbit. Salyut 1 was modified from one of the Almaz airframes, and was made out of five components: a transfer compartment, a main compartment, two auxiliary compartments, and the Orion 1 Space Observatory.
