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Mission celebrates space age at 50
Cosmonauts and astronauts team up to mark 50 years since Yuri Gagarin's space flight.
Last Modified: 05 Apr 2011 11:45



A mission to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight has blasted off from Kazakhstan.
The goal is to explore the potential for longer manned missions.

Yuri Gagarin, the first space traveler, made the historic journey that put the Soviets ahead of the Americans in the space race.

With the US shuttle programme due to end this summer, NASA has agreed to pay Russia almost $63 million per astronaut in the coming years.

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports.
Source:
Al Jazeera
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