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The Great War
The first world war breaks out and ends. -
Goddard 1 Experiment
American engineer 'Robert H. Goddard' launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, in which it runs off of kerosene instead of gunpowder. It flies for about 6.2 seconds before running out of fuel. It marks the beginning of modern rocketry. -
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World War 2
A war between the Allied & Axis Powers, but it was also a time of revolution! The first long-range rockets and penicillin were made during WWII. -
V-1 Flying Bomb
German rocket scientists develop the first unmanned aircraft, which is used to assault London -
V-2 Ballistic Missile
With Germany desperate for a solution to help return the old German Reich, the V-2 missile is developed. Although its original use was for destruction, it helped put a man on the Moon. -
Operation: Paperclip
The U.S., having a desire to have a foothold in the dawn of rocketry, had taken German rocket scientists who were working on the V-1 & V-2 programs. -
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The Cold War
A nuclear, technological, and political standoff between Democracies and Dictatorships. -
First ICBM
The first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile is designed by Sergei Korolev in 1953, allowing more nuclear capability in the Cold War. -
Sputnik 1
The Dawn of Space Travel.
The Soviet Union beat the United States to space by a mere month, giving the U.S. a bad start to the competition. -
First animal in space
Laika the Dog, aboard Sputnik 2, was launched into orbit and became the first animal ever to be in space; however, she died a few hours after launch due to pressure issues and heating problems. -
First Moon contact
The Soviets were still blazing in the lead after launching Luna 2, which was the first object to come into contact with the Moon...I didn't say softly-land. -
First man in space
Yet again, the Soviets beat America to another achievement! The first man in space was Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot. He almost was killed during reentry, as the pod he was in failed to separate from the fuel & engine, causing his ship to shake violently. -
First Trans-Atlantic Communication
After the launch of Telstar-1, the first television signals are sent over the Atlantic ocean to Europe from the U.S. -
First successful interplanetary flyby
Mariner 2, the American satellite, successfully did a flyby of Venus. This marked the first successful interplanetary flyby. -
First woman in space
The Soviets were far ahead as of now in the Space Race, and by sending the first woman into space was yet another achievement for the Soviets. -
First moon landing
The Soviets looked like they were clear to win the Space Race after landing the Luna 9 probe on the Moon; however, their N1 rocket continued to fail testing. -
First men on the Moon
Once the lander had landed on the Lunar surface, one phrase was spoken: "The Eagle has landed." At this point, most say the U.S. won the Space Race, however, some argue at the Soviet's number of achievements before and after the Moon landings were more important. -
First space station
Salyut 1 was the first successful space station, it also was the first civilian spacecraft despite countless military experiments going on in it. Although this was a monumental achievement for the Soviets, it was clear the space race was coming to an end. -
First object to leave the solar system
Pioneer 10 from the U.S. was the first object to leave the solar system, being launched on March 3rd, 1972. Its original mission was to venture to the outer planets, and exiting the solar system is a typical outcome after an object goes past Jupiter. -
First spaceplane
With the space race technically over, the first 'spaceplane' was launched on April 12th, 1981. Its name was "Columbia," the first space shuttle.
