Space Race

Space Race

Period: Jan 1, 1957 to Dec 31, 1969

Sputnik 1 (USSR)

Oct 4, 1957

USSR launches Sputnik 1.

Explorer 1 (USA)

Jan 31, 1958

Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.

NASA (USA)

Oct 1, 1958

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed, it replaces the National Advisory Committee on Areonautics (NACA).

Pioneer 1 (USA)

Oct 11, 1958

Pioneer 1 is launched to a height of 70,700 miles.

Luna 1 (USSR)

Jan 2, 1959

Luna 1 is launched by the USSR. It is the first man made object to orbit the sun.

Tiros 1 (USA)

Apr 1, 1960

Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched.

Alan B. Shepard (USA)

May 5, 1961

Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.

John F. Kennedy (USA)

May 25, 1961

President John F. Kennedy addresses Congress and challenge the nation to go to the Moon before the end of the decade.

John Glenn (USA)

Feb 20, 1962

John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.

Walter Schirra (USA)

Oct 3, 1962

Walter Schirra orbits the Earth six times.

Mariner 2 (USA)

Dec 14, 1962

Mariner 2 flies past Venus and enters a solar orbit.

Ranger 7 (USA)

Jul 31, 1964

Ranger 7 transmits the first close range images of the moon.

First Spacewalk (USSR)

Mar 18, 1965

Alexei Leonov spends 12 minutes outside of his Voskhod spacecraft performing the first spacewalk

First Spacewalk (USA)

Jun 3, 1965

Ed White performs America's first spacewalk. Jim McDivitt remains in the Gemini capsule.

Venus 3 (USSR)

Nov 16, 1965

Venus 3 is launched. It becomes the first man made object to impact Venus on March 1, 1966

Luna 10 (USSR)

Apr 3, 1966

Luna 10 becomes the first satellite to orbit the moon.

Lunar Orbiter 1 (USA)

Aug 14, 1966

Lunar Orbiter 1 enters orbit around the moon and takes the first picture of the Earth from that distance.

Zond 5 (USSR)

Sep 15, 1968

Zond 5 is launched. It carried a biological payload (including two turtles) around the moonand returned to Earth six days later.

First men to walk on moon (USA)

Jul 20, 1969

Neill Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin becomes the first men to walk on the moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the moon alone.

First Precision Lunar Landing

Nov 19, 1969

Pete Conrad and Alan Bean performs the first precision lunar landing, touching just 600 feet from the Surveyor 3 probe that arrived two years earlier.