Vostok 5
The Soviet Union launches the Vostok 5 mission to orbit Earth, carrying cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky aboard. He remains in orbit for over four days, traveling over 2,000,000 miles in Earth orbit. As he flies over the Soviet Union, a second Vostok capsule is launched in the USSR’s first bid to trump the United States by mounting the first manned space rendezvous.