The Soviets launch the Vostok missions, and the Americans launch the Mercury missions in parallel. These are single-passenger flights, with no control. Each mission lasts six missions. Then comes the Soviet Soyuz and American Apollo missions. Finally, the Soviet Voskhod and the American Gemini. But here the comparison ends: the Americans successfully assemble and test the Gemini probe, originally designed for two passengers, while the Soviets encounter numerous problems with the Voskhod, which has struggled since the beginning of its development.
