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Sputnik 1 launched.
Soviets shock the world by launching the first man-made satellite. -
U.S. finally launches satellite.
With the help of Werner von Braun, the U.S. launches Explorer 1. The satellite discovers the van Allen radiation belts. -
Soviet probe photographs moon%u2019s far side.
In another impressive feat, the USSR's Luna 3 takes the first photo of the moon's far side. -
Soviets send first man into space.
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in space. -
America first manned spaceflight.
Alan Shepard becomes first Ameran in space with his sub-orbital Mercury mission. -
First American in orbit.
John Glenn becomes orbits the earth in his Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7. -
First woman in space.
In another first, the Soviets send the first woman into space. It would be 20 years before the U.S. send Sally Ride aboard a shuttle flight%u2014the first woman in space. -
World%u2019s first space walk.
Alexei Leonov takes a historic stroll outside Voskhod 2 spacecraft. -
American walks in space.
Ed White steps outside into the void of space. -
Gemini rendezvous.
Wally Schirra pilot's Gemini 6 to a rendezvous in orbit with Gemini 7. -
Surveyor lands on the moon.
U.S. achives a lunar landing...albeit unmanned. -
The Apollo 1 fire.
A fire at the launchpad during a test kills the Apollo 1 crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. -
Soyuz fatality.
In the first flight of the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, Cosmonaut Komorov dies as his craft plummets to the earth at high speed during re-entry. -
First crew to orbit the moon.
Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders become the first people ever to orbit the moon, aboard Apollo 8. -
Man on the moon.
The Apollo 11 crew acheives the first lunar landing, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface, while Michael Collins orbits above. -
The Soviets space station disaster.
The first people to ever occupy a manned space station seems to have a successful mission. But, after nearly 24 days, the 3-man crew of Soyuz 11 returns...dead. -
Apollo 13 (barely) returns home.
After a deadly explosion on the way to the moon, a loss of oxygen, and a host of other challenges, the Apollo 13 crew returns home. -
America%u2019s Skylab repaired by crew.
Pete Conrad and crew fix the first U.S. space station%u2014Skylab%u2014and settle in for a stay. -
American-Soviet space explorers meet in orbit.
The Apollo-Soyuz test project succeeds in a docking, in the first ever Soviet-American joint space mission. -
Viking lands on Mars.
Twin Viking spacecraft soft-land on the Martian surface and test for life. The first lands on America's bicentennial. -
Shuttle era begins.
John Young commands STS-1, taking the shuttle Columbia out for its first test flight. -
First American woman in space.
Aboard STS-7, Sally Ride is in orbit. -
First untethered space walk.
Bruce McCandless outside during STS-41B...floating free. -
Challenger explodes on launch.
73 seconds after launch, shuttle Challenger explodes killing all 7 crew members, including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe. -
Hubble telescope launched.
STS-61 lauches and the crew successfully repairs the Hubble space telescope...the first ever such "service" call. -
End of 438 day mission.
Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns from an amazing, record setting 438 day mission, aboard the space station Mir. -
Glenn returns to space.
At 78, John Glenn returns to orbit...this time aboard the space shuttle. -
Expedition One goes to ISS.
The first crew goes to the International Space Station. -
First private space traveller.
Dennis Tito rockets into orbit aboard Soyuz TM-32. -
Columbia lost.
Shuttle Columbia is destroyed during re-entry, killing the crew of STS-107. -
First Chinese manned flight.
Shenzhou-5 lauches a Chinese "Taikonaut"%u2014Yang Liwie%u2014into orbit. -
SpaceShipOne wins X-Prize.
By successfully completing its second manned flight into space, SpaceShipOne wins the X-Prize...the first private manned spacecraft.
