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Sir Isaac Newton made a new type of telescope
Sir Isaac Newton created a telescope that used curved mirrors to focus the light to create the first reflecting telescope. The mirrors were lighter than the heavy glass lenses used in refracting telescopes. -
The theory to describe rockets has arrived
Sir Isaac Newton had come up with the three laws of motion to describe how rockets work.
1. An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by a net force.
2. Force equals mass multiplied by acceleration.
3. To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Newton's third law worked best for explaining how rockets worked. -
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's ideas
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky had many ideas about rockets. His work mostly took place before the first airplane flight in 1903. He knew that if rockets were going to escape Earth, they needed liquid fuel instead of solid fuel. He aslo figuered out that you needed to find a balance between the right amount of fuel and how heavy the rocket is. -
First liquid-fueled rocket
Robert Goddard launched the first rocket to use liquid fuel instead of solid fuel. This took place in Massachusetts. -
Pluto is discovered
The search began in 1929 to find the mysterious Planet-X that was predicted by astronamers for many years. Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto which had become the ninth planet until 2006 when it was re-classified as a Dwarf Planet. -
V-2 missle
Hermann Oberth joined a group of German scientists to help create a missle. They created this missle to bomb multiple places in Belgium, England, and France. The V-2 was launched at an altitude of 176 km or 109 miles making it the first human-made object to travel into space. -
The first American rocket to reach space
The United States launched their first rocket from White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. It reached the edge of space at the altitude of 50 miles. -
First pictures of Earth taken from space
The first pictures of Earth were taken from an altitude of 65 miles. American scientists were using former German V-2 rockets to conduct experiments and research. For the first time, we got to see the view of the planet we live on from space. -
First artificial satellite put in orbit
The USSR launched the first artificial satellite and launched it into space, it was Sputnik 1. It weighed 184 pounds and had a diameter of 58 cm. After about three months of being in space, Sputnik 1 slowed down enough to get pulled into the Earth's atmosphere an burn up. -
First dog in space
Sputnik 2 was launched into space, but this time with a living creature, Laika, a dog! The USSR launched this mission. Laika wasn't expected to survive this misson and didn't. -
United States launched their first satellite
The United States launched their first satellite, Explorer I. -
NASA signed to law
Congressional leaders were quick to right the National Aeronautics and Space Act, after Soviet successes are in space. This could mean that the US is locing the Cold War. The act creates a civilian agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. -
First weather satellite
The first weather satellite, Tiros 1, launched by the United States. Two television cameras returned images of the clouds above Earth. It was only operational for 78 days, but proved that satellites could be useful to predict weather. -
First human to orbit Earth
Russian Lt. Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth. The flight lasted 108 minutes and reached an altitude of 327 km or 202 miles. -
Probe reached Venus
They figuered out basic measurements and atmosphere composition. They also studied the magnetic field, which Venus does not have or just has a weak one, and evironment. The surface is extremely hot, unsuitable for life. -
First humans in space
The USA launched the first humans in space, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11. -
First tragedy in space
Salyut 1 was launched in space with three astronauts, Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev, and Vladislav Volkov. There was a problem in with the hatch in the return vehicle. The cabin was depressurized suffocationg the three astronauts. This led to astronauts always having their pressurized suits on. -
Skylab launched
Three crews visited Skylab within its first year in orbit. Skylab was used to study the effects on humans staying in space for long periods and to study the Sun. -
The USSR and USA
The USSR and USA carried out a joint mission called the Apollo-Soyuz test project. American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. -
Mission to Mars launched
Viking 1 was launched to go to Mars. the orbiter arrived on June 19, 1976 and the lander arrived on July 20, 1976. 97% of the surface was mapped, but no life was detected on Mars. The composition of the atmosphere was also measured. -
First American woman in space
The first American woman in space was named Sally Ride. She went into space on Challenger before it was destroyed. She was training for her third mission when Challenger was destroyed and killed seven people. -
Challenger Disaster
Just 73 seconds after Challenger's launch, it started to break apart. The seven crew members all died. The first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe was one of them. -
Shuttle missions start again
Safety was improved and shuttle missions have begun again. More than 87 missions have been completed without major accidents. -
Voyager 2
Voyager 2 began to transmit pictures of Neptune. It passed about 3,000 miles above Neptune's north pole. Five hours later, it passed 25,000 miles from Neptune's largest moon, Triton. -
The Hubble telescope was put in orbit
The Hubble telescope put into by the shuttle Discovery. Several shuttle missions have returned to the Hubble because of repairs. Some of the greatest discoveries and pictures of space have come from the Hubble. -
Oldest man in space
John Glenn had already been in a mission 36 years before, being the first American in to orbit the Earth. Now he is the oldest human being to go into space. He was 77 years old when this happened. He was there to run experiments on gravity and aging. -
Columbia Disaster
During the takeoff of Columbia, a piece of foam broke off the fuel tank and smashed a tile that protected against the high temperatures. When Columbia returned to Earth, it couldn't handle the high temperature and broke apart, and like Challenger, seven crew members died. -
Messenger Probe above Mercury
A Messenger Space Probe skimmed 124 miles above the surface Mercury. The radio signals indicate that the probe is still operating normally. -
Kepler was launched
Kepler is launched to search for planets and solar systems out of our own solar system. -
SpaceX launched spacecraft
A private company, SpaceX, launched the first non-government organization to accomplish this. They launched a spacecraft, Falcon 9 into orbit around Earth. It returned to Earth safely.
