Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Soyuz-5 by the Soviet Union, a mission that was more dramatic for its near-disastrous landing than for its liftoff and the in-space docking maneuver performed with Soyuz-4. This page has a wealth of details about the mission.
The “space mystery” is more contemporary, and political: i.e., why is the front-runner for the NASA Administrator post a retired Air Force Major General with almost no space experience? (See, e.g., this Washington Post story.) Maybe it’s not so mysterious after all, since he’s been a close advisor to the President-Elect. He’s an accomplished fighter pilot with deep experience in international affairs, and I have no doubt that running a large agency would come easily to him — I say this having never, to my knowledge, met him — but I wonder if the NASA science types might try to baffle him with bulls*** (technologically-speaking, of course). We’ll see if this pans out, or if one of the other candidates gets the nod.
by 
