The 50th anniversary of human space flight

“There are lots of hungry people in the world, and none of them are hungry because we went to the moon. None of them are colder and certainly none of them are dumber because we went to the moon.”


Half a decade has passed since man's first space flight.. I paused and reflected how far we have come in that 50 years... Gagarin's flight was seen as a huge accomplishment and was celebrated around the world, and it kicked off the space race between what was then the Soviet Union and the United States.

Following that U.S. President John F.Kennedy challenged his nation to put the first man on the moon by the end of the decade, which they did in 1969. For his part, Gagarin became a huge celebrity. He visited dozens of countries to celebrate his accomplishment. Since Gagarin's flight, 522 people from 38 nations have flown in space: 335 from the U.S., and 111 from Russia.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of human space flight.. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution at a special session on Thursday declaring April 12 the International Day of Human Space Flight.

We have come a long way since that day 50 years ago both good and bad.. we seen the arms race and cold wars escalate, we have see technology grow for better and worse to help humanity... as I look back at it I am reminded human we are by that event and how we must cherish life, family and friendship instead of bickering over small matters.... The quote from West wing says it all... Live life to the fullest and respect the friendship you have with your friends

Bartlet: It was not a space ship from another planet, just another time -- a long since abandoned Soviet satellite. One of its booster rockets didn't fire and it couldn't escape Earth's orbit. A sad reminder of the time when two powerful nations challenged each other and then boldly raced into outer space. What will be the next thing that challenges us, Toby? That makes us go farther and work harder? You know that when smallpox was eradicated, it was considered the single greatest humanitarian achievement of this century? Surely we can do it again, as we did in the time when our eyes looked towards the heavens, and with outstretched fingers we touched the face of God.