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Sputnik 1 launch
On October 4, 1957, Russia sent the first artificial satellite into space. That launch took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth. -
Period: to
space race
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Dog in space
Laika, the dog rode to orbit in Sputnik 2, the world's second artificial satellite. It was launched by the Soviet Union from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Laika was the first animal ever sent into space. -
First U.S satellite successfully launched
Explorer 1 was launched into Earth's orbit by the army, four months after Russia lauched Sputnik. Von Braun, van Allen, and Pickeringflew the Explorer 1. Explorer 1 became the first successfull U.S. satellite launch. -
NASA founded
When NASA was founded it was the start of the Space Race. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958. The head of NASA became T. Keith Glennan. Because of NASA humans have walked on the moon, built the International Space Station, and its robotic spacecrafts have studied Earth and visited all the planets. -
Monkey in space
On May 28, 1959 the monkies Baker and Able launched aboard a Jupiter AM 18 rocket. The flight was 15 minutes. Baker and Able became the first monkies in space and the first primates to survive a trip into space. -
First man to orbit Earth
Yuri Gagarin was the first human ever to orbit Earth. He rode the Vostok 1 capsule into space. He was in space for one hour and 48 minutes. -
First U.S. man in space
Alan Shepherd rode in a tiny space capsule called Freedome 7. He fired 116 miles into the air and hit a top speed of 5,100 miles per hour before dropping in the Atlantic Ocean. Alan Shepherd became the firs U.S. man in space and was only 23 days late - Yuri Gagarin got there before him. -
First U.S. man to orbit the Earth
John Glenn rode inot spaceona space capsule called Friendship 7 and landed in the Atlantic ocean. He also circled the globe 3 times at more than 17,000 miles per hour. John Glenn became the first U.S. man to orbit the Earth. -
Fisrt woman in space
Valentina Tereshkova (Russian) traveled to space in Vostok 6. She was also the first space traveler who hadn't been a test pilot. She orbited the Earth for 3 days. She was the first woman in space. -
First space walk
On March 18,1965 Alexei Leonov conducted the first space walk. His space walk beat Ed White's space walk by three months. He flew into space on Voskhod 2 launched by the Soviet Union. The space wak was 12 minutes. -
First U.S. space walk
On the third orbit of the Gemini 4 mission Ed White made the first space walk on june 3, 1965. He counducted a space walk for 23 minutes. It started over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and ended over the Gulf of Mexico. -
Gemini 7
Gemini 7 flew Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on a 14 day mission.They orbited the earth 206 times. They launched from Cape Canaveral and landed southwest of the Bermuda Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The primary objective was to conduct a 14 day mission and evaluate the effects on the crew. -
Apollo 8
The crew Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders flew on the Apollo 8 into space. They were in lunar orbit for 20 hours and orbited the earth 10 times. It lasted for 6 days. -
First man on the moon
Neil Armstrong flew to the moon on the Apollo 11. He and his partner Edwin Aldrin walked around for three hours. They put the U.S. flag and a sign on the moon. Neil Armstrong became the first man ever on the moon.
