The base of the jovial groove as the little group walked was a lilting, repeating riff on the kora, the 21-string harp-lute that a musician played with its base propped against his torso, plucking with his thumbs. â
The Vanguard team was still working on a test vehicle (TV-2) designed to test the first stage of the rocket when they learned of the launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, by the USSR on October 4, 1957. On December 2, the Department of Defense announced the imminent launch of TV-3.
Project Mercury. Initiated in 1958, completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. Project Gemini. The second U.S. manned space program was announced in January 1962. Gemini involved 12 flights, including two unmanned flight tests of the equipment.