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Sputnik
Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. -
Period: to
Space Exploration
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Explorer 1
United States launches Explorer 1, which discovers the radiation belt. -
NASA
NASA is established to conduct space activities. -
Mercury Seven
The Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury astronauts picked by NASA on April 9, 1959. -
Luna 3
Luna 3 sends back the first pictures of the backside of the moon. -
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin becam the first human being to travel into space in Vostok 1. -
Alan Shepard
Freedom 7's Alan Shepard became the first American in space. -
John Glenn
John Glenn became the first american to orbit the earth in Freiendship 7. -
Gordon Cooper
Gordon Cooper becomes the first american to spend 24 hours in space. -
Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to travel in space. -
Aleksei A. Leonov
Aleksei A. Leonov becomes the first man to perform a spacewalk. -
Luna 9
Luna 9 takes the pictures of the surface of the moon. -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land and walk the moon. -
Skylab
Skylab, a US space station, is used as a laboratory in earth orbit. -
Voyager
The Voyager sends back photos of Saturn. They confounded all known laws of physics -
Launch
Fist space shuttle launch. -
Sally Ride
Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. -
Challenger
The Challenger disintegrates less then one minute after launch, killing seven astronauts. -
Voyager 2
The Voyager 2 flies within 3100 miles of Neptune and discover six new moons. -
Pathfinder
Pathfinder lands on Mars. The rover explored the Martian terrain. -
John Glenn
John Glenn, 77, becomes the oldest person to travel in space. -
Columbia STS-107
Space shuttle Columbia STS-107 disintegrated upon reentering the earths atmosphere. The fiery explosion left a huge trail of debris, mostly over east Texas. -
SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately built craft to enter space.