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Launching of Sputnik I
The Soviet Union sent the satellite Sputnik into space. With the launch being successful, it shocked the world that a man made object was in Earth's orbit. -
Explorer 1
Explorer 1 was the first satellite that the U.S sent into space. Explorer 1 detected the Van Allen belts of radiation that surrounds Earth. -
NASA is formed
After the Soviets launched Sputnik into space in 1957, America responded by creating NASA in 1958. This started the space race between the Soviet and the U.S. NASA is responsible for America's activities in space. -
Luna 1
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the moon sent by the Russians. It was concluded that the spacecraft was intended to impact the moon. The spacecraft went into orbiy around the Sun, between the orbits of the Earth and Mars. -
Discoverer XIV
Discoverer XIV was the first satellite to be ejected from an orbiting space vehicle and then recovered in midair. -
First Man in Space
Russia sends the first man into space. Yuri Gagarin was the first human ever to be sent into space. He made an 108 minute orbit and returned safely. This amazed the whole world and caused the Americans to send a man into space as well. -
First AMERICAN in space
After Russia sent Yuri Gagariv into space, NASA sent Alan Shepard. A month after Russia sent the first man into space, Alan Shepard was the first American on the Mercury mission to be sent into space. He made a 15 minute sub-orbital flight. -
First Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to fly in space. She was launched in Vostok 6 and orbited earth 48 times. With the completion of the mission she was honored with the title Hero of the Soviet Union. -
First Spacewalk
Aleksei Leonov was the first Russian and first man to "walk" in space. Leonov walked in space for 20 minutes and re-entered the spacecraft. However, this posed a problem because his suit had inlarged and he had to let air leak out before he re-entered the spacecraft. -
First American Spacewalk
Ed White was the first American to do a spacewalk. He was attached to a 25 foot umbilical cord and moved around by twisting his body and pulling on the cord. His spacewalk lasted 23 minutes. -
Apollo 1 Tradegy
NASA astronauts Gus Grissom,Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in the Apollo Command Module during a preflight test. While in the command module a spark from a bundle of circuits started and with oxygen and flammable equipment in the module the fire spread quickly. Not being able to open the hatch since it had to be opened inwards caused the men not being able to get out. The astronauts died within seconds and this caused a hold on the Apollo program. -
Soyuz 1
The Soviets plan to dock in space turned into tradegy. Soyuz 1 was launched first followed by Soyuz 2 the following day. The problems started when one of the solar panels of Soyuz 1 failed to deploy and wrapped itself around the service module. The decision was made to bring Komarov,the pilot, back. His re-entry was succesfull but his main chute did not deploy. His backup chute became tangled with the drag chute and the module crashed into a field. -
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was sent to the moon to orbit the moon. It was the first mission to reach the moon, take pictures from space, and the first TV coverage of the lunar surface.It only had one rocket to get them there and back. -
First Moon Landing
Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first man to first step on the moon followed by Buzz Aldrin. -
Apollo 17's return
The return of Apollo 17 ended the Apollo program. Apollo 17 returned with the richest collection of lunar material from any lunar site and was evaluated as "the mission most impressively exemplifying the Apollo program."
