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October 4, 1957
The actual journey into space began October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world's first orbital spacecraft, which orbited the world for three months. A month later the Soviets launched Sputnik 2 and its passenger Laika, a dog who has the distinction of being the first known living creature to escape earth and enter outerspace. -
February of 1958
The space race was on, and in February of 1958, the United States launched Explorer 1. -
December 18, 1958.
The first communication satellite was launched on December 18, 1958. Signal Communication by Orbital Relay (SCORE), which broadcasted a Christmas message from President Eisenhower - "Peace on Earth, Good will toward men" - orbited the earth for 12 days until the batteries failed. The main purpose of the SCORE project was to prove that an atlas missile could be put into orbit. -
August 12, 1960
the United States launched Echo 1, a passive reflector satellite with no amplification possibilities. Echo 1 could only reflect the radiation back to earth. At the time of its launch, it was thought that passive reflector satellites could serve a purpose in communications, but the technology was soon abandoned. -
July 10, 1962
Telstar 1 was launched into low Earth orbit on July 10, 1962, by a Delta rocket. NASA provided the launch services and some tracking and telemetry support. Telstar 1 was the first satellite to transmit live television images between Europe and North America. -
January 25, 1964
Echo 2, managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Beltsville, Maryland, was launched on January 25, 1964. -
April 6, 1965
On April 6, 1965, the first Intelsat satellite, Early Bird was launched; it was designed and built by Rosen’s team at Hughes Aircraft Company. Early Bird was the first operational commercial satellite providing regular telecommunications and broadcasting services between North America and Europe. -
Beginning of Landsat programme
The Earth Resources Technology Satellite is launched. This begins the longest-running programme of satellite imagery of the Earth, later renamed Landsat. Landsat instruments acquire millions of images that are used to evaluate natural and human changes to the Earth. -
ESA’s first launch
The European Space Agency (ESA) launches Ariane-1, which is designed primarily to put two telecommunications satellites into orbit.This begins ESA’s space programme that continues into the present. -
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle. Its orbit outside the Earth’s atmosphere allows it to take sharp images that lead to breakthroughs in astrophysics, for example, determining the rate of the Universe’s expansion. -
First GPS constellation
The first global positioning system constellation becomes operational. It consists of 24 geosynchronous satellites. GPS is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth. -
International Space Station launched
The first component of the modular International Space Station is launched. It is an international collaboration involving Russia, the USA, the European Union, Japan and Canada. It serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory. -
1000 satellites orbit the Earth
More than a thousand active satellites orbit the Earth. The exact number of operational satellites is difficult to determine for security reasons, but the UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists) satellites database lists 1016 active satellites. -
Probe lands on comet
The spacecraft Rosetta is the first to catch up with a comet and land to a probe on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. -
pluto drive by
The Pluto-bound probe will zoom past the dwarf planet, making its closest approach on Tuesday at 7:49 a.m. EDT -- and it will offer the first-ever up-close glimpse of our solar system's beloved Pluto. -
