In April 1961 Major Yurt Gagarin became the first man to travel in space and return safelv to earth. In the same year President Kennedy predicted that an American would set foot on the moon by the end of the decade. Many were sceptical but year by year the space race intensified.
The Americans reached their goal in 1969 when Neil Arm strong made that ' small step for man. but one giant leap for mankind,' and they have continued their programme of manned flights. The Russians have probed deeper into space with their unmanned craft, and the Chinese have begun, modestly, their own space programme.
James Burke evaluates the progress of the past ten years and looks forward to the next decade.
Produced by HELEN FRY
(One Small Step: tomorrow at
6.15 pm, BBC1)