Russian Commander Dmitry Kondratyev said Monday that Yuri Gagarin's space flight on April 12, 1961, has culminated in the huge space station. He says he's hoping for another giant leap in the next half-century.
As for the shuttle anniversary, astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. said Columbia's launch on April 12, 1981, inspired him to become a spaceman.
On Tuesday, NASA will announce which museums will win the soon-to-be retired shuttles for display. The astronauts say they're impartial, as to where the shuttles wind up.
