Yuri's night

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Kennedy Space Center, FL--April 12, 2001 is a night to celebrate a conjunction of space exploration anniversaries on this date--1961 saw the single-orbit flight of Yuri Gagarin around the Earth by the Soviet Union as the first tentative human step into space; 1981 marked the first flight of the Space Shuttle, the only current U.S. manned launch system and space vehicle.

To celebrate Yuri's Night, space enthusiasts are getting ready to party in 64 cities in 29 countries. To find out if there is an event near you,check out www.yurisnight.com.

NASA is leading the way in observing the first Shuttle flight piloted by John Young and Robert Crippen. NASA centers across the country are holding press events to highlight their contributions to the Shuttle program and review the development of the launch system. A good place to start to learn more about the anniversary events and the Space Shuttle in general is at the Kennedy Space Center site:
www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/events/sts1.htm. Party on!