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The Race to Space
The Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States begins. -
Explorer 1
Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt. -
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USSR VS.USA
Explorer 2 is launced but it fails to reach orbit -
The Vanguard 1 satellite is launched. It continues to function for 3 years.
Sputnik 3 is launched.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed, it replaces the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA).
Pioneer 1 is launched to a height of 70,700 miles. -
Space Testings
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with the first living passenger, the dog Laika, aboard. -
Luna
The U.S.S.R. launches Luna 1, which misses the moon but becomes the first artificial object to leave Earth orbit. -
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Multiple Launches
Mar. 3 - Pioneer 4 is launched on a Earth-Moon trajectory. It passed within 37,000 miles of the Moon before falling into a solar orbit.
Apr. 2 - The "Mercury Seven" astronauts are selected by NASA.
Sep. 12 - Luna 2 is launched. It impacts the Moon on September 13, becoming the first man-made object to do so.
Oct. 4 - Luna 3 orbits the Moon and photographs 70% of its surface. -
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New Times
Apr. 1 - Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched.
Aug. 18 - The US launches Discoverer XIV, its first camera equipped spy satellite. -
New President of The 60's
John F. Kennedy is elected the 35th President of the United States. -
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Fighting Hard
Apr. 12 - Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.
May 5 - Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.
May 25 - President John F. Kennedy addresses Congress and challenges the nation to go to the Moon before the end of the decade.
Jul. 21 - Gus Grissom is launched on a sub-orbital flight. His Liberty-Bell capsule is lost when it fills with water and sinks after splashdown. -
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Bad Times
May 15 - L. Gordon Cooper spends 34 hours in space. He is the last American to fly in space alone.
Jun. 16 - Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
Oct. 17 - A third group of NASA astronauts is selected.
Nov. 22 - President Kennedy is assassinated. -
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Getting Closer
Feb. 3 - Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon.
Feb. 28 - Astronauts Charles Bassett and Elliott See die when their plane crashes in bad weather.
Apr. 3 - Luna 10 becomes the first satellite to orbit the Moon.
Jun. 2 - Surveyor 1 soft-lands on the Moon. -
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The End
Jan. 16 - Soyuz 4 & 5 perform the first Soviet spacecraft docking.
Jul. 20 - Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the Moon alone.
Nov. 19 - Pete Conrad and Alan Bean perform the first precision lunar landing, touching down just 600 feet from the Surveyor 3 probe that arrived two years earlier.
