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Sputnik I
Sputnik I was launched by the Soviet Union and began the "space race" with the United States. It was the first artifial satellite that was put in to the Earth's orbit. It travels at 18,000 mph and completes an orbit in 96.2 minutes. -
Explorer I
Explorer 1 was the first Amercian satellite to go into orbit. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt. -
NASA established
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA was formed by the United States during the space race for more research. It controls all missions to space and its also where astronauts are trained. it replaced the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA). -
Discoverer Launched
The Discoverer 14 was the first satelitte into space and then reattch in mid-air. This satelittle was successfully launched by the United States. It was the first camera equipped spy satellite. -
Russia enters space
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was sent by the Russians on the Vostok 1 space craft. He became the soviet hero and this advanced the Russians in the space race. -
Alan Shephard enters space
Soon after the russians sent a man in outer spaace, the United States sent Alan Shepard. He was on board Freedom & which was a tiny shuttle made just for him, -
Russian Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. She was sent by the Soviet's. She was choosen to fly the spacecraft out of 400 other applicants. -
Space Walk
Alexei Leonov was the first man out in actual space. This russian mission was suppose to be Vostok 11, but was cacelled and done on Voskhod 2. He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes and 9 seconds. Leonov's space suit bcame inflated when he was trying to get back into the spacecraft. He was able to let some air out and barely make it back. -
American Spacewalk
Ed White was the first American to complete a spacewalk. He was sent on the mission Gemini 4. White was in space for 23 mintues and was over Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico. -
Luna
Luna 9 was the first space craft to land on the moon. It was sent by the Russians. The spacecraft landed on oceanus procellarum. Luna 9 took pictures of the surface of the moon but these pictures werent immediately released. -
Luna 10
Luna 10 was the first spacecraft to orbit the moon. It finished its first orbit in 3 hours. The design of the spacecraft was a lot like Lunar 9. -
Soyuz
Soyuz 1 was a manned spacecraft holding Vladimir Komarov. It was the first of the Soyuz series. On its return back to Earth, technical problems caused a crash and the death of Vladimir. It was the first fatal space flight. -
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. It was a three man crew containing Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders. The mission took three days and took 10 orbits in 20 hours. On Christmas Eve the crew read the first 10 verses of Genisis while broadcasting the view on television. -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the first flight that took men to the moon and was a project of the United States. This was a great achievement because the US had reached the moon before the Soviets. -
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program. Launched at 12:33 on December 7, 1972, with a crew of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 remains the most recent manned Moon landing
