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Sputnik I
Sputnik was a Soviet artificial satellite that was the first of anything manmade to go into outer space. It shocked the world. Ignited the Space Race between USSR and United States. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological and scientific developments. -
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Space Race
Russia vs America -
Laika
Laika, formally named Kudryavka, was the first animal in space. Sent up by the Soviets on Sputnik II. Died shortly after entering space due to stress and overheating. She also did not have a way to get back home; a small monument was built near the research facility that prepared Laika's flight. The monument is a dog standing on a rocket. -
Explorer I
Explorer I was officially known as Satellite 1958 Alpha. It was the first American satellite that was sent into Earth's orbit. It had a scientific payload: it detected the Van Allen Radiation Belt that surround the Earth. -
Farwell N.A.C.A
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and congress. It replaced the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). NASA was the beginning of unique scientific technological achievements in human space flight, space science, space accplications, and aeronautics. -
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin, on the Vostok 3KA-3 aka Vostok 1, became the first human to travel into space and the first to orbit Earth. "The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended." He became an immediate Soviet hero. On reentry, he whistled the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows". -
Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard became the first American in space. Traveled for 15 minutes going 300 miles. He was in Zero Gravity for 4 minutes. Diagnosed with Ménière's disease - condition where fluid pressure builds in inner ear, causes Vertigo. Later became the commander of the Apollo 14 space flight. -
Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova was first woman in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times while aboard the Vostok VI spacecraft. She went around the Earth for almost 3 days, proving that women have the same ability in space as men. -
Aleksei Leonov
On The Soviet Capsule, Voskhod II,Pilot Pavel Belyayev and Co-Pilot Aleksei Leonov went into space. Leonov performed the first spacewalk in history; Unfortunately, his spacesuit had enlarged slightly and he couldn't fit get back into the capsule..he had to release some of his oxygen to depressurized his suit allowing him to board his capsule. He almost died. -
Ed White
Ed White completed the first American spacewalk when he floated out of his Gemini 4 capsule. He was in space for about 23 minutes. He later stated that the spacewalk was the most comfortable part of the mission, and ending it was the saddest moment of his life. -
Apollo 1
The first mission of the Apollo program, scheduled to be the first manned Apollo mission, was supposed to launch February 21, 1967. During a routine capsule test, exposed wires sparked and a fire erupted. The fire swept through the Command Module of the Apollo 1 killing Virgil Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee in merely 17 seconds. -
Soyuz I
Soyuz I first in the Soyuz series, and also the first fatal space flight. It was a spacecraft manned by Vladimir Komarov. Komarov was killed when the parachutes failed to open after re-entry into the atmosphere. -
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida with Colonel Frank Borman (commander), Captain James A. Lovell Jr. (CM pilot), Major William A. Anders (LM pilot). The Apollo 8 orbited the moon 10 times; images of the lunar surface were transmitted for live television. On Christmas Eve, the astronauts read the first ten verses of Genesis 1, and were later sued by Madeline Murray O'Hare. -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 set history by becoming the first manned mission to land on the Moon. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to take the first steps on another planetary body on July 20, 1969. The Astronauts of Apollo 11 were able to return safely to Earth with the first samples from a different planetary body. -
Hello Mars
The United States's spacecraft, Mariner 9, became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. It circled Mars twice a day for a year, taking pictures of its surface and analyzing the atmostphere. Mariner 9 photo-mapped 100% of Mars's surface, and took the first ever picture of the moons Deimos and Phobos. -
Apollo 17 returns
Eugene A. Cernan and Ronald E. Evans were allowed the honor to take the first scientist to the moon, Harrison H. Schmitt. The crew used a Lunar Rover on lunar surface excursions. Schmitt and Cernan collected 109 punds of rocks from the moon. The crew were recovered in the Pacific Ocean near American Samoa by the US Navy.
