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USSR Launches First Satellite Into Space Called Sputnik
The space race started when The USSR launched the very first satellite into space. -
Russia Sends a Dog to Space
The USSR sends its very first cosmonaut in the form of a dog named Laika -
USA Sends its First Satellite Into Orbit
The US catches up, sending its own satellite into Earth Orbit, Explorer 1 -
The Creation of NASA
President Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, creating NASA to keep up with the Russian advances in space technology -
The USA Sends its own Animal Into Space
The United States sends Ham the Chimpanzee into space, able to perform tasks for rewards this smart little guy braved the journey into the unknown for all of chimp-kind -
First Man in Space!
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first Man to ever reach space, giving the USSR yet another lead on the US in the space race -
President JFK Promises a Man on the Moon
President Kennedy promises a Man on the Moon, famously setting the tone for how serious the US was about the space race -
USA's First Man to go into Orbit
The United States sends John Glenn into Orbit, staying not too far behind the Soviets -
First Spacewalker
Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov leaves his spacecraft and breaking new ground in what can be done in space -
The US does its first EVA
Astronaut Ed White became the first American to perform a spacewalk, leaving his spaceship to float about in open space -
Gemini IV Launches
The USA's Gemini 4 took to the sky, and orbited for 4 days (98 hours in total) -
Gemini VII
Gemini VII carried its two astronauts, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, on a 14 day mission, a very long time for back then -
Gemini IX Crew Dies in Plane Crash
The original Crew for the Gemini IX mission were tragically killed in a plane accident where their plane clipped a building and crashed, killing Elliot See Jr and Charles Bassett -
Gemini VII
Gemini VII carried two astronauts into Orbit, David Scott and Neil Armstrong, the second being the very same who took the first step on the moon -
The Apollo I Tragedy
On this date one of the most saddening events in NASA history occurred, in which three astronauts, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were all killed in a fire which broke out in their capsule -
Apollo VII
Apollo VII was the first crewed Apollo mission, carrying astronauts Walter Schirra Jr, Walter Cunningham, and Donn Eisele -
Apollo VIII
The Apollo VIII mission became the first mission to send a crewed spacecraft beyond the Earth's gravitational influence -
Apollo IX
This 10 day mission was a low Earth-orbit test of the Apollo spacecraft, all the astronauts (James Mcdivitt, Russel Schweikart, and David Scott) landed safely in the ocean -
Apollo X
The Apollo X mission launched the first crewed spacecraft to operate around the moon, sending Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan, and John Young 9 miles from the surface of the moon -
Apollo XI
Arguable the most famous NASA mission of all time. The Apollo XI mission took astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the surface of the moon