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Sputnik 1 Launch
Sputnik 1 was bright shiny, silver ball with 4 antennae. It was a launched by the U.S.S.R and it orbited the Earth while making a beeping noise. The Americans were surprised and this got the U.S into the space exploration industry. This started the space race between the Americans and the Russians. The Sputnik launch not only started the space race but it also led to more scientific, military, technological and political developments. -
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Space Race
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1st Dog in Space
The U.S.S.R wanted to see if a human would be able to go into space, so they sent a man's best friend, a dog! Laika was put into the Sputnik 2 capsle and blasted into space. Sadly she caught fire while she orbited the Earth and she died on board. Even though this mission was unsuccessful, this paved the way for Yuri Gararin: the 1st man in space. -
1st Successfully Launched U.S Satellite
Explorer 1 was a Jupiter C rocket launched by the U.S Army. It was launched months after Sputnik 2 was launched. It revolved around the Earth about 12 times a day. Many citizens of the U.S thought this launch was the 'shock of the century". With this launch, the U.S caught back up with the U.S.S.R in space exploration. -
NASA Founded
NASA was founded as a reaction to the Sputnik 1 launch by the U.S.S.R. The space act was passed by the government to start NASA. NASA’s 1st business day was 10/1/58, which was about a year after Sputnik’s launch. The founding of NASA eased the pressure on the U.S because the feeling in America was that now that Russia launched something into space, they can blow up our country or take it over. The founding of NASA also gave the American citizens some pride. -
1st Monkey in Space
Miss Baker and Able were the first monkeys in space that returned successfully. They went up in a Jupiter Missile. Their fight lasted about 15 minutes and their missile’s speed reached up to about 10,000 MPH! They were weightless for 9 minutes, but when they returned back to Earth, they were perfectly fine. NASA used monkeys to test how life is in space because monkeys have a very similar body compared to humans. Because of this successful flight, NASA was able to send a man up into space. -
1st Man to Orbit Earth
A Russian man named Yuri Gararin became the first man in space and the first man to orbit the Earth in the same mission. Gararin sat in his capsule peacefully because he didn't have to control it. He led the way for space travel as well as putting the U.S.S.R in "the lead" in the space race. -
1st US Man in Space
Alan Sheppard was the 1st American man in space. This occured only 23 days after Yuri Gararin went to space. Sheppard's Freedom 7 spacecraft landed in the Atlantic on re-entry. This mission caught up the Americans with the U.S.S.R. Some also say this was a form of rewvenge on Russia. -
1st U.S Man to Orbit Earth
John Glenn was the first Amenican to orbit the Earth. On board the Freindship 7 mission, Glenn completed technical and medical tests. This mission gave the Americans the confidence it needed to compete with the U.S.S.R. Friendship 7 also put NASA a step forward to the moon. -
First Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. She made 48 orbits of Earth in a 70.8 hour flight aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. Her flight in space "paved the way' for many women to come and she showed that going to space isn’t just a man thing, but a woman can do it too. -
1st Space Walk
Russian Alexei Leonov completed the first human space walk. His spacewalk or extravehicular activity lasted about 12 minutes. But when Leonov tried to re-enter the Voskhod 2, his suit was to large so he had to leak some air out of his suit so he could get back in. This spacewalk proved that you can get out of the spacecraft and still live. A spacewalk can help you if you have an issue on your spacecraft and you had to fix it in mid-flight. -
First U.S Spacewalk
Ed White completed the first U.S spacewalk. He was haning on to the Gemini 4 spacecraft for about 23 minutes. He had an oxygen gun in his hand as he flew above Hawaii,Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. This spacewalk showed to the U.S.S.R that the Americans can complete a spacewalk too. This put both of the countries neck and neck in the space race. -
Gemini 7
The Gemini 7 mission lasted for 14 days. There were 2 men aboard the spacecraft: Frank Borman and James Lovell Jr. They completed 206 orbits of Earth while seeing how your bosy reacts to 2 weeks in space. Both men also tested a brand new spacesuit on board. This mission showed that a person can survive in space for 2 weeks or more as long as they have the proper gear. -
Apollo 8
The Apollo 8 mission had 3 men aboard: Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders. They made 10 lunar orbits during the 6 day period. They also made several TV broadcasts on board. On Christmas Eve, Borman read the 10 verses of the book of Genesis to the world on board Apollo 8. But most importantly, they became the 1st people to see the moon's far side and they became the first men to leave Earth's gravitational field. This mission put NASA one step closer to setting foot on the moon. -
1st Man on the Moon
The Apollo 11 mission put men on the moon. There were 3 men apart of this mission but only 2 set foot on the moon. They are Neil Armstrong, Edward "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin put a U.S flag on the moon and it is still there today. Armstrong is officialy the 1st man on the moon. When he set foot on the moon he recited,"One small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind." This put the Americans ahead in the space race and they never looked back.
