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Space Exploration Timeline 1958-1980
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First American Satellite
Explorer 1, weighing at 30 punds, was the first American satellite. It was on a Jupiter-C rocket, which sent it into orbit. Several scientific instruments were within the satellite. The satellite found out that there were radiation belts all around the earth. -
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established. It took over authority of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. NASA lead the US to many successful space exploration missions. -
First Spacecraft to Achieve Solar Orbit
The Soviets launched the Luna 1 sastellite with the mission of hitting the moon. However, the satellite fell short of it's target and was thrown out into space by the moon's gravity. Missing the moon, it made an orbit around the sun between Mars and Earth. -
Weather Satellite
The first triumphant weather satellite was launched by the US. Tiros 1 had television cameras in the satellite. Which sent back movements of the clouds that could be used to predict the weather. Despite functioning for only 78 days, it showed the world that satellites ould be also be useful for weather predicting. -
First Spacecraft on the Moon
Luna 9 did a 250,000 mile trip to the moon and successfully landed softly on the moon. The Russian spacecraft took pictures of the moon's surface and sent it back to Earth. It was shown during the mission that the moon's surface was able to support the weight of a large spacecraft. -
First Man on the Moon
During the Apollo 11 mission, the first humans to set foot on the moon was Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr.. This was, and is still, considered to be the greatest technology achievement of the 20th century by many experts. -
US Space Station
Skylab was launched and became the first US space station. It was resided by three crews. Skylab became a valuable place for experiments for scientists. -
International Space Station
The International Space Station showed the world that the US and Russians could work together. The Apollow and the Soviet Soyuz had their spacecrafts combine. It was the first international spacecraft rendezvous, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. -
Surface of Mars
Images of Mars' surface was sent back to Earth by Viking 1. It was the first spacecraft to land successfully on a different planet for the US. All that could be seen in the images was a rocky scenery, void of any life form. -
Spacecraft lands on Jupiter
The US spacecraft Voyager 2, launched into space in 1977, landed on Jupiter. It began deliver back images of Jupiter and it's moons.
