-
The world's first artificial satellite
The Sputnik 1 satellite was launched by the USSR . It was the first man-made object to leave the Earth's atmosphere. -
The first creatures to return alive from space
Two monkeys, Able and Baker, became the first living creatures to survive a space flight. Able, a female rhesus monkey, and Baker, a female squirrel monkey, were launched into space by the US on a Jupiter missile. -
The first man in space
The USSR sent Yuri Gagarin into space from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in a Vostok spacecraft. He made a single orbit of Earth in 108 minutes, travelling at more than 17,000 miles per hour -
The first woman in space
Valentina Tereshkova, a former textile worker, became the first woman to be launched into space by the Soviet Union. She circled the Earth 49 times during three days in space, and was reportedly injured during the landing. -
The first ever spacewalk
Alexei Leonov carried out the first-ever spacewalk from the two-man Voskhod spacecraft. Leonov's suit expanded minutes after stepping into space due to the zero-pressure conditions. When he tried to get back into his spaceship, he could not fit through the hatch and had to release a valve to partially depressurise his suit and squeeze back inside. -
The first man on the moon
Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin spent two hours on the lunar surface setting up observation equipment and collecting rock samples. As Armstrong put his left foot down, he famously declared: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." -
The first space station is launched
Russia launched Salyut, the first space station. The first crew to dock with the orbiting outpost later die during re-entry when the air leaks out of their Soyuz capsule. -
Free flying in space
Bruce McCandless became the first person to do a spacewalk without being attached to the spacecraft. He tested a manned manoeuvring unit, which allowed him to travel away from the orbiter, during a 90-minute spacewalk. -
The assembly of the ISS begins
Assembly of the ISS began with the launch of its first module, Zarya, on a Proton rocket from Baikonur. The ISS is the largest artificial body in space. -
FIrst Space tourist
Dennis Tito, a billionaire businessman from California, became the first paying passenger to go to outer space. Mr Tito set off from Kazakhstan for an eight-day holiday aboard the International Space Station
