Space Race By capricorn1228 Oct 4, 1957 Launching of Sputnik 1 Nov 3, 1957 Russian Send The First Animal Into Orbit (Laika, a dog) Sputnik 2 USSR Jan 31, 1958 Explorer 1, reached satellite orbit Lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt American Mar 5, 1958 Explorer 2 is launched but failed to orbit American May 15, 1958 Sputnik 3 Is Launched USSR Nov 8, 1960 John F. Kennedy is elected 35th president My choice Apr 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once, first man in space USSR May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard is the first American man in space American Nov 22, 1963 President Kennedy is assassinated. Choice Nov 16, 1965 Venus 3 is launched. USSR Apr 3, 1966 Luna 10 becomes the first satellite to orbit the Moon. USSR Mar 27, 1968 Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, dies in a plane crash. Choice Apr 4, 1968 Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr Choice Jul 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon. Choice Dec 19, 1972 Apollo 17's Return From The Moon American