Yuri Gagarin: Sixty years since the first human went into space

Yuri Gagarin: Sixty years since the first human went into space

Sixty years ago, an air force pilot named Yuri Gagarin became the first human being in space, taking the Soviet Union's own giant leap for mankind and spurring a humiliated United States to race for the moon.

Gagarin's 108-minute mission marked a historic achievement for the Soviet Union, which beat the US in a tight race to launch the first human into space.