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The Space Race Begins!
It is 1957 and the U.S. and the Soviet Union are locked into the Cold War. The Soviet Union has just launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik. Fearful of Soviet military control of space, the Americans quickly prepare a rocket. With the world watching, it blows up. Making fun of then-President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, one newspaper proclaims, "Stayputnik. Ike's Sputnik Is a Flopnik." The Space Race was on, and the Soviet union was deffinitely winning. -
Friendship 7
On February 20, 1962, John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit Earth. An Atlas launch vehicle propelled a Mercury spacecraft into Earth orbit and enabled Glenn to circle Earth three times. -
First Satalite to orbit earth
The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite. Called Sputnik, a combination of words meaning "fellow-traveler of Earth," it weighs about 184 pounds. Sputnik circles the globe beeping radio signals, demonstrating that the Soviets have rockets that could send warheads anywhere on Earth. This event triggers the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
Astronaut Training
In one test the astronauts would spin around and around, until the pressure on their bodies is 16 time of their own weight. The Nasa plan dubbed the vommit comit it flies up and then down like a roller coaster. -
Choosing Seven Pioneers
Finally, on April 9, 1959, NASA chooses seven astronauts. Who instantly become famous, as the seven. John Glenn Jr. was one of the seven astronauts, he was 37 years old. -
First Space Flights
On May 5, 1961, less than a month after Gagarin's flight, the U.S. sends astronaut Alan Shepard into space. His 15-minute sub-orbital flight doesn't impress the Soviets. But it shows that the Americans are still in the race. -
First Deaths in Space
During a test on the launchpad, a fire kills Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Also, on April 24, 1967, the Soviet craft Soyuz 2 crashes on re-entry, killing Vladimir Komarov — the first cosmonaut to die during flight. -
Liftoff
It is 9:32 a.m. on July 16, and Apollo 11 is go for launch. The thunderclap of liftoff rolls across the Florida fields. The rocket rises into the sky. In three minutes, Apollo 11 vanishes from sight. Before liftoff, the crew had named the LM the Eagle and the command module Columbia. For three days they fly with Columbia and the Eagle nose to nose. Millions of people watch the live television broadcast from inside Columbia. They successfully enter orbit 65 miles above a full moon. -
Lunar Landing
On the morning of July 20, 1969, Collins helps Armstrong and Aldrin through a tunnel into the tiny Eagle. Alone on Columbia, Collins worries about his friends. "You cats take it easy on the lunar surface," he tells them over the radio. -
The First Moon Walk
Neil Armstrong is the first to wriggle out of a square hole in the Eagle. Once outside, he lowers a small drawbridge that holds a TV camera. Now the world can watch as he backs down the ladder. Back on the home planet, 600 million people watch on television. Armstrong touches the moon's surface and says, "That's one small step for man… one giant leap for Mankind". -
The Space Shuttle Program
In 1973, NASA launched its first space station, Skylab, into orbit. But Skylab is abandoned in 1974. It costs too much to keep it supplied. NASA needsed a cheaper way to get crews and supplies to and from space. So, they design the Space Transportation System (STS) with reusable boosters for launch and a shuttle that lands like an airplane. -
The First Reusable Space Vehicle
The space shuttle Columbia takes John Young and Robert Crippen into space. It launches like a rocket and lands like an airplane. This is the first manned American space mission since the Apollo-Soyuz flight in July 1975. -
Takeoff
It's 3:15 a.m. on a Saturday, but the crew onboard the space Shuttle Challenger doesn't mind the early hour. June 18, 1983, is launch day for STS-7. At 7:33 a.m., the shuttle roars to life. White-hot plumes shoot from the reusable solid rockets. Signs urge, "Ride, Sally Ride!" A huge crowd cheers the launch of America's first woman in space. -
First American Woman in Space
Sally Ride is part of the crew for the seventh space shuttle flight, STS-7. The first African-American astronaut, Guion Bluford, follows on the next flight on August 30. -
Releasing and Catching Satellites
Soon after the shuttle reaches orbit, Hauck opens the cargo bay doors to expose three satellites. Ride and Fabian open a sunshade protecting the first satellite to be released. Then they start the satellite spinning like a merry-go-round. Spinning will keep it from getting "sunburned" on one side or the other. Then they release the satellite, which fires its own little booster to reach a higher orbit. -
First Surface Travel on Another Planet
Arriving aboard the space probe Pathfinder, the robot Sojourner explores the surface of Mars. The six-wheeled, remote-controlled, solar-powered rover sends images of the planet’s surface and investigates chemical properties of Martian soil. During the Sojourner’s three months in action, the Pathfinder mission took tons of photographs and scientific findings. -
First Space Studies on the Elderly
At age 77, John Glenn flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery and was the oldest person to make it into into space. As an original member of NASA’s Mercury program, he entered the public-eye in 1921 when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. During his second flight, 35 years later, he contributed to research on weightlessness and the effects of space flight on the elderly. -
First Non_Astronaut to Enter Space
Dennis Tito, a billionaire from California became the first paying passenger to enter outer space. Mr. Tito, age 60, has dreamt of blasting off into space for over 40 years — and he paid $20 million to finally fulfill his dream. He now supports the idea of ordinary people entering space. -
Cina Sends First Man Into Space
China successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space. This makes China the third country to send a human into space; only the United States and Soviet Union had successfully done that before. Yang Liwei remained in space for 21 hours, and was given a hero’s welcome when he landed safely. -
First Spacecraft to Orbit Saturn
Cassini-Huygens became the first spacecraft to make it into orbit around Saturn. Later in the year the spacecraft flew within 800 miles of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Titan is also the only moon in our solar system that has an atmosphere.
