Space Exploration Timeline

  • First Artificial Satellite​

    First Artificial Satellite​
    October 4, 1957- is when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik the first ever satellite into space. ​
  • First Animal in Orbit​

    First Animal in Orbit​
    On November 3, 1957 the first animal to make an orbital spaceflight around the Earth was the dog Laika aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2.​
  • First Successful American Satellite​

    First Successful American Satellite​
    On January 31, 1958 the Explorer 1 became the first successfully launched satellite by the United States.​
  • NASA Signed into Law​

    NASA Signed into Law​
    On July 16 and President Eisenhower signed it into law on July 29, 1958. The bill established eight objectives for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.​
  • Human SpaceFlight​

    Human SpaceFlight​
    On April 12, 1961, the era of human spaceflight began when the Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth in his Vostock I spacecraft. ​
  • First American in Space​

    First American in Space​
    On May 5th, 1961, astronaut Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the first American in space aboard the Freedom 7 Space capsule on a flight that lasted 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere.
  • First Woman to fly in Space

    First Woman to fly in Space
    On June 16, 1963, at the age of 26, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in space.
  • Voskhod 2 Mission

    Voskhod 2 Mission
    The cosmonauts were able to leave the spacecraft because EVA backpacks.
  • First Man on the Moon

    First Man on the Moon
    On July 20,1969 America made history when Neil Armstrong was the first ever man to walk on the moon.
  • Apollo 13

    The crew had to use different resources on board to get back to earth.
  • Apollo 14

    Apollo 14
    The Apollo 14 mission was the third manned lunar landing mission. Its objective was to perform detailed scientific lunar exploration.
  • America's First Space Station.

    America's First Space Station.
    Skylab was America's first ever space station and it was used study micro gravity.
  • The Space Race Ends

    The Space Race Ends
    On July 17, 1975 the space race against Russia and U.S. came to an end. Soviet cosmonauts and American astronauts shake hands in orbit as the two nations' spacecraft dock during the Apollo-Soyuz mission.
  • Sally Ride

    Sally Ride
    Sally Ride was the first American Female in space.
  • First ever Space Shuttle

    First ever Space Shuttle
    On August 12, 1978 the first ever space shuttle was tested.
  • Space Shuttle Columbia

    Space Shuttle Columbia
    On April 12, 1981 Nasa Launched the Columbia with the help of booster rockets.
  • The Challenger

    The Challenger
    On April 4, 1983 NASA released another space shuttle called The Challenger.
  • The Space Shuttle Discovery

    The Space Shuttle Discovery
    On August 30, 1984, the Space Shuttle discovery made its first launch into space, They suscessfully carried 3 communications
    satellites into space.
  • The Atlantis Space Shuttle

    The Atlantis Space Shuttle
    On October 3, 1985 NASA launched their final space shuttle Atlantis.
  • Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

    Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
    On January 28, 1986 launched the Challenger and 73 seconds later it blew up and the whole crew was dead.
  • Hubble Space Telescope

    Hubble Space Telescope
    The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990.
  • Space Shuttle, Endeavour

    Space Shuttle, Endeavour
    In 1992 NASA launched a new space shuttle called Endeavour it was a replacecment for The Challenger that blew up.
  • Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

    The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.
  • International Space Station

    International Space Station
    The International Space Station was finshed in 2011 and This is where scientists stay for week at a time doing experiments in outer space.