"Russian Soyuz rocket successfully lifts off"

Brazil has sent its first man into space.

It's interesting that a person who speaks Portuguese has finally made it into space, given how prolific Portugal was in exploring and conquering the globe in the 15th and 16th centuries. But, times do change. After all, who would have thought that, forty years after the race to the moon, the Americans and the Russians would be working so closely together in space exploration.

The American space program has depended on the Russians for cargo and astronaut delivery to the space station since the Columbia explosion. The shuttle Discovery visited the station in July but had problems with the foam insulation on its external fuel tank.

[American astronaut Jeffrey] Williams praised the cooperation between the Russians and the Americans, saying the two countries were united by the common vision of space exploration and by the goal of keeping a permanent presence in orbit following the Columbia accident.

“I think the partnership is stronger because of it,” he said.

[Russian cosmonaut Pavel] Vinogradov said that, in space cooperation, the Russians and Americans “have learned to work together.”

Good to hear from former enemies.

UPDATE: Boy, I can't add or subtract. I have corrected this post to say that the space race was forty years ago, instead of the thirty I had originally put. Great math skills, huh?