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First Telescope Created
The first telescope was created when Hans Lipperhey, a Dutch eyeglass maker combined two lenses. -
First Astronomical Telescope.
Galileo Galilee built the first astronomical telescope. -
First reflecting telescope
Issac Newton built the first successful reflecting telescope. It was a prototype for a design that later came to be called a Newtonian telescope. -
Uranus was discovered.
The german-born astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet by using a mirror telescope that he had constructed. -
First liquid fueled rocket launched.
U.S. rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket from his Aunt Effie's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. -
First rocket to reach 100km above earth's surface.
Germany sent the first rocket to reach 100km above earth's surface. The rocket was designed by Wernher Von Braun. -
First American-designed rocket reaches space.
The United States launches its first American-designed rocket, known as the Wac Corporal. -
First animals in space.
Fruit flies become the first animals in space as a V-2 rocket is launched from the White Sands Proving Ground. -
Sputnik 1 launched
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into a elliptical low orbit. -
First animal in orbit.
The Soviet Union sent the first animal in orbit. They sent a stray dog named Laika in Sputnik 2. -
NASA is formed.
The photo shows the first NASA headquarters at he Dolley Madison house, it also shows the new seal of NASA. -
First spacecraft to reach the moon.
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the moon. -
First weather satellite.
Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the United States. Two television cameras in the satellite returned views of clouds above the Earth. -
First man in space.
Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to venture into space. The Vostok 1 spacecraft made one complete orbit around Earth in 108 minutes, and reached altitudes of 112 to 203 miles. The flight lasted only one hour and 48 minutes. -
First U.S. Space Tragedy
During a routine test of the Apollo 1 spacecraft on the launch pad, a spark caused a fire to start in the crew compartment of the command module. -
First Manned Moon Landing
Apollo 11 makes the first successful soft landing on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. become the first human beings to set foot on another world. -
First Landing on Venus
The Soviet Venera 7 is the first probe to soft-land on Venus -
First Space Station
The Salyut 1 space station is launched by the Soviet Union and become the first space station in orbit. -
First Spacecraft to Orbit Another Planet
American space probe Mariner 9 is launched May 30, 1971. Six months later it arrives at the planet Mars and becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. -
First Black Hole Candidate
Astronomers designate Cignus X-1 as the first probable black hole This binary star system emits strong bursts as X-rays as matter is crushed out of existence by the black hole. -
First U.S. Space Station
The United States launches Skylab, the first U.S. space station. -
First International Space Rendezvous
American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock in what is the first international spacecraft rendezvous. Known as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, this important mission proved that U.S. and Russian crews could work together successfully in space. -
First Surface Images of Mars
The first pictures of the surface of Mars are sent back to Earth by Viking 1, the first U.S. spacecraft to successfully land a on another planet. The pictures reveal a rocky, desolate landscape that shows no signs of life. -
Discovery of Water Frost on Mars
Following the success of Viking 1, the Viking 2 spacecraft lands on Mars on the Plain of Utopia. It discovers and photographs water frost and sends back stunning images of the Martian surface. -
Discovery of Water Frost on Mars
Following the success of Viking 1, the Viking 2 spacecraft lands on Mars on the Plain of Utopia. It discovers and photographs water frost and sends back stunning images of the Martian surface. -
First Images of Saturn
The U.S. space probe Pioneer 11 reaches Saturn, flying within 13,000 miles and taking the first close-up photographs of the planet. -
First Space Shuttle Launch
The first manned mission of the Space Transportation System (STS-1), Columbia, is launched. This mission, as well as the next three, will be a test flight to try out the spacecraft's systems. -
First American Woman in Space
Astronaut Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman to travel into space on Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-7. -
Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off for mission STS-31, carrying the Edwin P. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The telescope is successfully deployed, but is found to contain a seriously flawed primary mirror resulting in fuzzy images -
Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off for mission STS-31, carrying the Edwin P. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The telescope is successfully deployed, but is found to contain a seriously flawed primary mirror resulting in fuzzy images. -
First Landing on an Asteroid
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is successfully landed on the surface of the asteroid Eros. NEAR sends back unprecedented images of the asteroid's surface during its hour-long descent. -
Opportunity Rover Lands on Mars
The sister rover to Spirit, Opportunity lands on the opposite side of the planet Mars in a location known as Meridiani Planum. After a mission extension of several years, Opportunity and its companion, Spirit, send back extraordinary images of the Martian surface and perform chemical experiments on rock samples. Many new discoveries include layered rock formations that could have been formed in water and tornado-like dust devils moving across the surface. -
First Landing on an Alien Moon
After descending by parachute for 2 hours and 28 minutes, the Huygens probe lands on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.The images show a surface that is flat and littered with small rocks. Dark areas on some images could indicate the presence of liquid methane. -
First Comet Samples Returned to Earth
After a journey of nearly seven years and 2.9 billion miles (4.6 billion kilometers), NASA's Stardust mission successfully comes to a conclusion in the desert salt flats of the Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule safely parachutes to the ground after collecting dust and particle samples from comet Wild 2. The samples are collected by the probe in the comet's coma within 147 miles (236 kilometers) of the comet’s nucleus. -
First Spacecraft to Orbit Mercury
NASA's Messenger spacecraft becomes the first man made craft to orbit the closest planet to the Sun. -
Largest Space Telescope Launched
Russia launches the Spektr-R which becomes largest space telescope to be placed into orbit. Spektr-R is a radio telescope designed to study astronomical objects with an angular resolution up to a few millionths of an arcsecond. -
New Horizons Arrives at Pluto
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft arrives at Pluto after a journey of more than 9 years and 4.6 billion miles.New data shows that Pluto is about 50 miles (80 km) larger than previously thought and that it has a nitrogen atmosphere extending tens of thousands of miles out into space.
