Bart Sibrel (a conspiracy theorist) says that the Soviet Union had much more time in space than the United States before the Apollo Program. The Soviet Union put the first satellite in orbit in October 1957 named Sputnik 1. They also put the first animal in space in Sputnik 2, and were the first country to safely bring back an animal from space in Sputnik 5. Yuri Gagrin was the first man to orbit the Earth in Vostok 1, who was also from the Soviet Union. Sibrel believes that since the Soviet Union was so far ahead of the United States in the Moon race, the United States had to fake the landings to win.