National Air and Space Museum Image Detail

CIA Estimate - Soviet Space Program

This National Intelligence Estimate—the last one published before Yuri Gagarin’s flight—predicted the U.S.S.R. would be capable of sending a human into orbit and recovering him from space within the next year. Monitoring of subsequent Soviet test flights confirmed this assessment.

Image Number: WEB11846-2011
Credit: Central Intelligence Agency
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Large JPEG (3172 x 2112 pixels)

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