Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the US Aurora 7.
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NASA's spacecraft, The Pioneer 10, became the first craft to exit the solar system.
NASA launched the first-ever active repeater communications satellite.
The Venera 3 space probe became the first human-made object to land on another planet.
Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members.
A NASA X-ray astronomy space telescope called 'Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 53' was launched into space.
