Alec's Space Timeline

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    Space Race Timeline

  • Sputnik

    Sputnik
    October 4, 1957. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite. It was launched by the Soviet Union. It circled the globe beeping radio signals. This event started the space race between the United States and Russia.
  • First Animal In Space

    First Animal In Space
    Laika was the first animal into space. It was launched by the Soviet Union. She lived for seven days proving that animals and possibly humans could survive in space. There was no way of bringing her back, so she had to be put to sleep. :(
  • First Man In Space

    First Man In Space
    Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He was riding on the Soviet Vostok 1. During re-entry the Vostok 1 shook wildly and once he was low enouh he ejected and used a parachute.
  • First Human In Space

    First Human In Space
    Alan Shepard was the first human United States sent into space. Three weeks later, J.F.K vows to send more men to the moon and back before the end of the decade.
  • First Death In Space

    First Death In Space
    During a test on the launch pad, a fire kills the members of the Apollo 1 astronauts. Then a few months later the Soviet craft Soyuz 2 crashed. Vladimir Komarov was the first cosmonaut to die.
  • First Man To Walk On The Moon

    First Man To Walk On The Moon
    During the flight of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin was the second. Neil Armstrong has the famous quote, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
  • First Space Rescue

    First Space Rescue
    The first space rescue was the members of Apollo 13. They had to rescue them after the oxygen tank exploded. They barely made it back in an intense, dramatic story.
  • First Space Station

    First Space Station
    The first space station was launched by the Soviets. It was called Salyut 1. Its original crew died during re-entry.
  • First Mars Landing

    First Mars Landing
    Viking 1 was the first thing that landed on mars. It was an unmanned scientific probe controlled by scientist. It transmited pictures of the surface of mars.
  • First Woman In Space

    First Woman In Space
    Sally Ride was part of the crew for the seventh space shuttle flight. She was the first woman in space.
  • First Woman To Do A Spacewalk

    First Woman To Do A Spacewalk
    Savitskaya became the first woman to do a space walk. Her and her partner conducted welding experiments for over three hours outside there Soviet space station.
  • First Civilian Death

    First Civilian Death
    The space shuttle Challenger exploded killing all seven crew members. It also included the death of the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe. This was a very tragic event that happened.
  • First Year In Space

    First Year In Space
    Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov complete 366 days on ther Russian space station. The record was broke by Valery Poyakov.
  • First Space Telescope

    First Space Telescope
    The crew of space shuttle mission STS-31 put the Hubble Space Telescope. Soon afterwards the telescope’s mirror was damaged. Then another space shuttle went up and corrected the problem. Then the telescope provided the first images of distant galaxies.
  • First Spacecraft To Leave The Solar System

    First Spacecraft To Leave The Solar System
    Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to leave the solar system. It reached a distance 50 times farther from the sun than earth. Currently it is 6.5 billion miles away, heading toward the constellation Taurus.
  • The First International Space Station

    The First International Space Station
    The international space station program began with the flight of Russia on an Sergei Krialev on an American space shuttle. Dr. Norm Thagard became the first American to stay on Russian space station.
  • First American To Spend A Month In Space

    First American To Spend A Month In Space
    Shannon Lucid was the first American to spend six months in space. After five shuttle flights and six months on the Russsian space station, her total time in space is 233 days.
  • First Surface Traveler On Another Planet

    First Surface Traveler On Another Planet
    The robot Sojourner was the first surface travel on another planet. It explored the surface of mars. The six wheeled remote-controlled, solar powered rover sended images of the planet’s surface.
  • China's First Human Sent To Space

    China's First Human Sent To Space
    Yang Livei was the first Chinese man to go into space. China, Russia, and the United States were the only countries to send people into space. He remained in space for 21 hours.
  • First Spacecraft To Orbit Saturn

    First Spacecraft To Orbit Saturn
    Cassini-Huygwens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around Saturn. It flew within 800 miles of Saturn’s largest moon.