Timeline: McKenna's Space Race Timeline

Oct 4, 1957

First Satellite in Space by USSR

The first satellite in space was the Soviet satellite, Sputnik.

Nov 3, 1957

First Animal in Space by USSR

The first animal in space was a stray dog from Russia, named Laika. She died a few hours after being sent into orbit.

Jan 31, 1958

First Satellite in Space by USA

The Explorer 1 was the first successful American satellite launch. This marked the beginning of the U.S. Space Age.

Jul 29, 1958

Creation of NASA

President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 establishing NASA.

Jan 31, 1961

First Animal in Space by USA

Ham the Chimp flew a suborbital flight on the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission, part of the U.S. space program's Project Mercury.

Apr 12, 1961

First Man in Space by USSR

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot who became the first human to journey into outer space. Travelling in the Vostok 1 capsule, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth

May 5, 1961

First Man in Space by USA

Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space during a suborbital flight aboard his Mercury capsule named Freedom 7.

Feb 20, 1962

First Man to Orbit Earth by USA

John H. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth during the three-orbit Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, aboard the spacecraft he named Friendship 7.

Sep 12, 1962

JFK's Speech About Getting to the Moon

Officially titled the Address at Rice University, was a speech by United States President John F. Kennedy to boost public support for his proposal to land a man on the Moon before 1970.

Mar 18, 1965

First Man to do an EVA (USSR)

The first EVA was performed by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

Jun 3, 1965

First Man to do an EVA (USA)

US astronaut Edward White was the first American to perform an “extra-vehicular activity” (EVA), or spacewalk.

Dec 15, 1965

First Rendezvous in Space (Gemini)

Fifty years ago, Gemini VI and VII met for the first rendezvous in space. This was not NASA's original plan.

Feb 28, 1966

Gemini 9A Tragedy

The original crew for Gemini 9, Elliot See and Charles Bassett, were killed in a crash, while flying a T-38 jet trainer to the McDonnell Aircraft plant in Missouri to inspect their spacecraft.

Mar 16, 1966

First Docking of Crewed and Uncrewed Spacecraft

The first docking between two spacecraft occurred when the Gemini VIII capsule, piloted by Neil Armstrong and David Scott, docked with an unmanned spacecraft called the Agena Target Vehicle.

Sep 12, 1966

First Propulsion Maneuver with Docked Agena

Gemini XI: 12-15 September 1966, docking and maneuvering with Agena, setting an altitude record.

Jan 27, 1967

Apollo 1 Tragedy

The Apollo program changed forever, when a flash fire swept through the Apollo 1 command module during a launch rehearsal test. Despite the best efforts of the ground crew, the three men inside died.

Oct 11, 1968

First 3 Person Crew to Launch (USA)

Apollo 7 was the first three-person American crew to launch space and it was the first crewed Apollo mission. All three astronauts caught a cold during the mission.

Dec 21, 1968

First Crewed Spacecraft to Orbit Another Celestial Body

Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth.

Mar 3, 1969

First Manned Lunar Module to Command Service Module Docking

Apollo 9 crew completes first command and lunar module docking in space. The Apollo 9 command and service module (CSM), along with the lunar module (LM), were on a path to complete the very first lunar module rendezvous and docking in Earth’s orbit.

Jul 20, 1969

First Men on the Moon

Apollo 11, U.S. spaceflight during which commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, Jr., became the first people to land on the Moon and walk the lunar surface.