The 101st Space Shuttle mission, STS-97, successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center.
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The first American satellite, Explorer 1, was launched into space.
The Soyuz 3 spacecraft achieved the first Soviet space rendezvous with Soyuz 2.
The Soviet Union launched the first crewed Soyuz mission, Soyuz 1.
Soviet spacecraft Luna 6, destined for a moon landing, failed after flying right past it.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft entered interstellar space, becoming the first artificial object to do so.
