Pilgrim first flight web 550x386

The History of Airships and Rockets

By Fluffy Bunny

  • First Hot Air Balloon Flown

    First Hot Air Balloon Flown
    Pilatre De Rozier designed and flew the hot air balloon. His idea sparked others ideas to create the airship.

  • Meusnier designed first airship

    Meusnier designed first airship
    This was the very first design for an airship. It was to be propelled by man-cranked engines, but this idea was never built.

  • Jullien Villejuif launched second airship

    Jullien Villejuif launched second airship
    This new model was the first full sized airship. Other scientists were inspired by Pierre's idea.

  • First flight of Giffard's steam powered airship.

    First flight of Giffard's steam powered airship.
    While Giffard had a hard time steering in the wind, he did prove that flight in calm weather was possible.

  • First successfully navigated airship designed

    First successfully navigated airship designed
    La France was launched by two frenchmen. A more practical design was launched by Giffard later on.

  • First airship to give public transportation

    First airship to give public transportation
    An airship named Bodensee in Germany was the first airship to provide public transportation and carried almost 2,500 passengers.

  • Hindenburg Disaster

    Hindenburg Disaster
    The german airship "Hindenburg" caught fire and was destroyed. This event began a downward spiral for airships, and decreased their popularity significantly.

  • First Rocket in Space

    First Rocket in Space
    The Germans launched the V2, the first space capable rocket.

  • First Satellite

    First Satellite
    The Sputnik launched by the USSR becomes the first satellite in space.

  • Yuri Gagarin - First man in space

    Yuri Gagarin - First man in space
    Yuri Gagarin of the USSR became the first man in space when his Vostok spacecraft orbited the earth.

  • Valentina Tereshkova- First Woman in Space

    Valentina Tereshkova- First Woman in Space
    Valentina Tereshkova of the USSR became the first woman in space when she completed 48 orbits in the Vostok 6.

  • First Men on the Moon

    First Men on the Moon
    The Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins to the moon and back.

  • Shannon Lucid- In Space for Seven Months

    Shannon Lucid- In Space for Seven Months
    Shannon Lucid spent seven months aboard the MIR Space Station, logging the most continuous time in space than any other astronaut, male or female.

  • America's first female airship pilot

    America's first female airship pilot
    Andrea Deyling was the first woman to pilot an airship in America. Her first flight was in the San Francisco Bay area.

  • Falcon Heavy- Revolutionizing Rocketry

    Falcon Heavy- Revolutionizing Rocketry
    The Falcon Heavy is currently the most powerful operational rocket with the ability to lift into orbit 64 metric tons and is also fully reusable.