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First Telescopic Observation of Space
The first telescopic observation of the sky was made by Galileo and he discovered Jupiter's moons, lunar craters, and the phases of Venus. -
First Clear Picture of the Moon
The first telescopic photograph of the Moon was taken by John William Draper. -
Goddard Files
The Goddard Files were subsequently awarded U.S. patends on multistage and liquid-fueled rockets because of Robert H. Goddard. -
Goddard Launches a Rocket
Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. -
First Rocket in Outer Space
The first rocket was launched past the Kármán line (100 km/62 mi above Earth's surface) meaning that it official went into outer space. This was done by Germany. -
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was launched by the USSR and was the first artificial satellite in space. -
First Rocket Launched in Earth's Orbit
The USSR fired the first rocket in Earth's orbit and was the first to reach Earth's escape volocity. -
First Artificial Satelite to Reach the Moon
The USSR launched the first artificial satellite to reach the moon and it was the first artificial satellite in heliocentric orbit. -
First Photograph of Earth from Orbit
NASA took the first photograph of Earth from orbit. -
First Solar Probe
NASA created the first solar probe. -
First Reusable Spacecraft
NASA created the first reusable manned spacecraft. -
First Spacecraft Beyond Neptune
NASA launched the first spacecraft that went past Neptune, making it the first spacecraft to past all of the Solar System planets. -
First Long Term Inhabited Space Station
The USSR had a space station that they used consistenly over a long period of time. -
First Orbital Cosmic Microwave Observatory
NASA launched the first orbital cosmic microwave observatory into space. -
Longest Time Spent in Space
Astronauts Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko returned to Earth from their 340 day space mission in the ISS. This is the longest time spent in space.
