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Credit: NASA
Human spaceflight turned 50 this year, but 2011 was less about drawing inspiration from the past than about transitioning to an uncertain future. The year marking the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic first spaceflight also saw NASA ground its storied space shuttle fleet after three decades of service. The United States now has no vehicle capable of lofting astronauts to Earth orbit or beyond, although NASA and several private aerospace companies are working to change that.
2011 also saw NASA announce designs for a new spaceship and a heavy-lift rocket that will someday propel people toward deep-space destinations such as an asteroid or Mars.
"The year truly marks the beginning of a new era in the human exploration of our solar system," NASA administrator Charlie Bolden said on Dec. 20. [Vote: Biggest Spaceflight Stories of 2011]
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