In 1960, at Cape Canaveral, Pioneer V was launched into orbit around the sun.

CNN: Wednesday,

The Landsat satellite was boosted into orbit by an Atlas V rocket shortly before 11:30 a.m. local time, more than an hour after lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base under mostly clear skies.

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At 180 feet tall and 12 feet in diameter, the Falcon 9 rocket is tiny in comparison to the football-field-long Saturn V rockets that carried Apollo spacecraft into orbit.

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While the Shenzhou V stayed aloft for only 21 hours, the Shenzhou VI will orbit the Earth for five to seven days.

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