Ethan Space Race Timeline

  • First Satellite in Space

    First Satellite in Space
    The first Satellite was launched on October 4th, 1957 by the USSR. Its name was Sputnik which was the first artificial satellite to orbit earth.
  • First Animal in Space

    First Animal in Space
    The first animal sent up to space was on Sputnik 2 and it was a dog named Laika who was part Siberian husky mix.
  • First US Satellite in space

    First US Satellite in space
    The first successful satellite sent into space by the US was called Explorer 1. This mission ended up starting the space race between Russia and the USA
  • Nasa was created

    Nasa was created
    On July 29th, 1958 Nasa was created in order to solve problems of flight on and off Earth. It was also created to make sure the US had the most advanced technology.
  • First Animal in Space by the US

    First Animal in Space by the US
    On January 31, 1961, a 3 1/2-year-old chimpanzee named Ham was launched into space by the US. His rocket was launched out of Cape Canaveral Florida and his mission lasted 16 1/2 minutes.
  • First Astronaut in space by USSR

    First Astronaut in space by USSR
    On April 21, 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first man in space and the first man to orbit the Earth. He traveled in a capsule named Vostok 1.
  • First US man in space

    First US man in space
    On May 1, 1961, Astronaut Alan Sheperd become the first American in space. His mission lasted 15 minutes aboard Nasa's spacecraft freedom 7.
  • First US Astronaut to Orbit Space

    First US Astronaut to Orbit Space
    On February 20, 1962, astronaut John H. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He did this in the Nasa spacecraft he named Friendship 7.
  • JFK Moon Speech

    JFK Moon Speech
    On September 12th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy made a speech at Rice University saying that the US was planning on putting a man on the moon before 1970. This speech was meant to gain support from the public.
  • First man to do an EVA by USSR

    First man to do an EVA by USSR
    On March 18, 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first Russian Cosmonaut to do an EVA in space. He spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the Russian spacecraft Voskhod 2.
  • First time two Americans were in space at once

    First time two Americans were in space at once
    On March 23, 1965, Astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young became the first two Americans to be in space at the same time. They traveled in the same capsule named Gemini 3.
  • First man to do an EVA by US

    First man to do an EVA by US
    On June 3, 1965, Astronaut Edward White became the first US Astronaut to orbit Earth. He was on the Gemini 4 spacecraft.
  • Gemini 7

    Gemini 7
    On December 12, 1965, Gemini 7 took place. This mission had Astronauts Fronk Boreman and Jim Lovell and their job was to test how long term space travel effects the human body.
  • Gemini 9 Crew Accident

    Gemini 9 Crew Accident
    On February 28, 1966, a Nasa T-38 crashed killing two project Gemini Astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
  • Gemini 12

    Gemini 12
    On November 11, 1966, Astronauts Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin took Gemini 12 up into space. They accomplished docking with a target vehicle and flying a jetpack in space.
  • Apollo 1 accident

    Apollo 1 accident
    On January 27, 1967, the Apollo one spacecraft caught fire during testing. This fire led to the death of all three crewmembers(Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee) and their mission being canceled.
  • Apollo 7

    Apollo 7
    On October 11, 1968, the Apollo 7 mission was launched. This was significant because it was the first mission going to space since the Apollo on accident. It was also significant because it was the first time the block 2 spacecraft got tested in orbit.
  • Apollo 8

    Apollo 8
    On December 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 mission was launched. This mission was crewed by Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders. This mission was significant because it was the first human spaceflight to reach space.
  • Apollo 9

    Apollo 9
    On March 3, 1969, the apollo 9 mission was launched. This mission was important because it was the first time the whole Apollo spacecraft was together in space. The Astronauts that were a part of this mission were James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart.
  • Apollo 10

    Apollo 10
    On May 18, 1969, the Apollo 10 mission took flight. This mission was to run a test flight to the moon and back before attempting to land on the moon. The crew of this mission was Thomas Stafford, Gene Cernan, and John Young.
  • Apollo 11

    Apollo 11
    On July 16, 1969, Apollo 10 was launched. This mission was huge because it was the US's goal to be the first to land on the moon and that's what they did. The crew of this mission was Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.