Talk:Timeline of the Space Race/FAQ


 * Q: Didn't Alan Shepard technically make the first human spaceflight?
 * A: No. This idea stems from old Fédération Aéronautique Internationale rules carried over from aviation stipulating that the pilot had to land inside the vessel, while Yuri Gagarin parachuted out of Vostok 1. The FAI decided to amend their rules to not require landing inside the spacecraft as they judged that landing safely was the important part. Gagarin is almost universally recognized as having made the first human spaceflight, and the conception that he did not is a WP:FRINGE view. See here for a more detailed explanation from the National Air and Space Museum.