It Ends With Nine Steps

Sputnik 1 launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth and shocked the United States, starting the Space Race. The Soviets achieved the first human spaceflight in 1961 when Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth. In response, NASA initiated Project Mercury which achieved the first American spaceflight by Alan Shepard in 1961 in a suborbital flight. Project Gemini followed, demonstrating the ability for long duration flights and rendezvous in space. Finally, the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 achieved President Kennedy's goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by the decade's end, with Neil Armstrong uttering his famous words as the first person to walk on the lunar surface.