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Launchuing of Sputnik I
This was the first man-made thing in space. It was launched by the USSR. The launch of the Sputnik marked the beginning of the Space Race between the USA and the USSR. Also the world was shocked by the launch. -
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Space Race
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Sputnik II
Sputnik II was launched by the USSR. It was the first launch of a living animal, a dog named Laika. After reaching orbit, the Block A core did not seperate as planned. This issue cause some of the the thermal isulation to be torn off causing the interior temperature to reach 104 °F. Laika is belived to have only surrvived for a couple of hours due to stress and the extreme heat. There was enough room in the Sputnik for Laika to lay down or stand up and the walls were paded. -
Luna 3
The Luna 3 was the third space probe sent up by the USSR. The pictures it took were low quality for today's standard, but they were great information to have then. The pictures showed mountainous terrain which was very different from the near side, and only two dark, low-lying regions. 29 pictures were taken and 70% of the pictures covered the far side. By October 18 all of the pictures were viewable. Contact with the probe was lost on October 22, 1959 -
Launch of Sputnik 6
The space craft was launched by the USSR. Two dogs, Pcholka and Mushka, were onboard. Technology was used to take a picture of the dogs while they were in outerspace. It was a test flight of the Vostok spacecraft. After orbiting Earth for one day, the space craft began re-entry. However, the space craft's engine did not cut off after re-entering. This caused Sputnik 6 to burn. Both of the dogs were killed. -
First Man in Space
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was from the USSR. He orbited Earth for 1 hour in 38 minutes. Gagarin orbited Earth in the Vostok spacecraft. Before becoming an astronaut, he was a pilot in the Soviet Air Force. He said, "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," in a post flight interview. -
Fisrt American in Space
Alan Shepard was the first American in space. His flight was orginally planned to launch in October 1960, but was cancelled due to unplanned prepatory work. In January 1961 the launch was scheduled for March 6, but was again postponed. On May 5th the Freedom 7 was finally launched. America was just a few weeks behind the Russians on getting a man into space. -
Support of the Apollo Program Announced
President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program. On April 20, 1961 he sent a memo to VP Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ was supposed to look into the space program and see what NASA could do to catch up. He knew that the US would need to do something big. He knew that even though landing on the moon was huge, the USA could do it first. -
First Man to Walk in Space
Alexey Leonov was the first man to walk in space. He went into space on the Voskhod 2. His walk lasted 12 minutes and nine seconds. Leonov was connected to the craft by a 5.35 meter tether. When his spacewalk was finished, Leonov's spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not re-enter the airlock. Leonov had to open a valve to allow some of the suit's pressure to leak out, and was barely able to get back inside the capsule. -
Project Gemini
This was the second human space flight program designed by NASA. The objective was to develop techniques, so that more advanced flights would be possible. Gus Grissom and John Young were the crew for the first Gemini capsule. There were a total of 10 flights and each of them prepared the astronauts for future and more advanced flights, like the Apollo Missions. -
Luna 5
Luna 5 was the first USSR to head towards the moon since 1963. On May 10 the space craft began spinning on the main axis. While trying to fire the main engine, a ground control error occured and the enigine never fired. Control was lost and the Luna 5 crashed with coordinates of 31° south latitude and 8° west longitude. -
Gemini X
Gemini X was the 8th Gemini flight and 16th manned American flight into space. Micheal Collins was the pilot and John W. Young was the Command Pilot. On July 19 they had a space walk for 49 minutes. They discovered that radiation at a high altitude was not a probblem. -
Soviet Moonshot
The USSR put the Moonshot into action as a way to be the first to land on the moon, Obviously, they were not successful. There were two seperate programs within the program. The USSR had a lunar flyby program and a lunar landing program. After the USA landed on the moon twice. The USSR decided to cancel their Moonshot program. The details of the Soviet's programs were top secret until the 1990's. -
Lunar Landing
Finally reaching President JFK's goal on landing on the moon by the end of the 1960's, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. The mission was commanded by Neil Armstrong, with Command Module Pilot as Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot as Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. They landed in the Sea of Tranquility, and the next day they were the first humans to walk on the moon. This signifcant event caught up and possibly put the USA ahead in the Space Race with the Soviet Union. -
Apollo 13 Fiasco
The crew was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. "Jack" Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module pilot. Swigert was a last minute replacement for Ken Mattingly, who wasn't allowed to go up due to the Measles. Two days after being launched, two oxygen tanks ruptured. The crew forcibly moved into the Lunar Module. After at least 1 stressfilled day, a plan was divised on how to the cew safely back to Earth. They returned on April 17, 1970. -
Apollo 17---Return from the Moon
This was the 11th and final mission to the moon. The crew commander was Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt. The mission consisted of three-day lunar surface stays, extended scientific capability, and exploration using the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, around American Somoa. US Navy helicopter squadron HC-1 rescued the crew.
