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Launching of Sputnik 1
This was the first object ever to be launched into space, which was launched by the USSR. It was a satellite about the size of a beach ball and sent to orbit the Earth. Sputnik 1 marked the beginning of the Space Race between the USSR and America. -
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Space Race
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Laika
USSR sends the first animal ever to be launched into space. Laika was a dog launched on Sputnik II, she died shortly after entering space from stress and overheating. -
Explorer 1
First American satellite in space, was launched weeks after Sputnik 1. Detected the Van Allen radiation belts on Earth. Launched in response to the USSR's launch of Sputnik. -
TIROS 1
This was the first succesful weather satellite, which started the series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites. TIROS, the name of the satellite was launched by the USA. -
First Man in Space- Russian
Yuri Gagarian, from Russia, was the first man in space. Which gave the USSR another lead start. He was in orbital flight for 108 minutes. -
American in Space
Alan Shepard was the first American in space. He did not orbit the Earth, but just simply went up into space. He was there for about 15 minutes. -
First Woman in Orbit
The USSR sent the first woman in orbit, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. She followed Yuri Gragarian, the first person ever to be in space. She was selected pilot of Vostok 6, since she was selected through applications, it also made her the first civilian in space. -
First man to walk in Space
The Russian Aleksie Leonov was the first man to conduct a space walk. He was very close to losing his life, having 45 minutes of oxygen and losing some so that he could be able to get in the spaceship. He walked in space for about 12 minutes. -
Probe to Venus
The USSR sent a probe to Venus, making it the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface. The probe crash-landed March 1, 1966, and communications failed before the probe could send any information about Venus back to Earth. -
Luna 9
Luna 9, a Russian spacecraft, was the first to do a soft-landing on the moon. It also sent photographic data back to Earth. This spacecraft weighed only 128 pounds, which helped it achieve the soft-landing. -
First Satellite to Orbit Moon
On this date, Luna 10, a USSR satellite, entered the lunar orbit. It was the first satellite to complete an orbit of the moon. It took only 3 hours. -
First Space Flight Fatality
Soviet Soyuz 1, Russian, was launched to space with Vladimir Komarov. The problems started when one of the solar panels would not open as he reached orbit. After spending only a day in orbit, Komarov was ordered to re-enter, but the parachutes failed to open. He was killed instantly when he impacted the ground at very high speeds. This was the first in-flight fatality ever in space exploration. -
First to walk on Moon
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first to walk on the moon, they were American. They arrived on the famous misison, Apollo 11. It was a historic moment for America, for they had finally walked on the Moon before the Russians. -
Apollo 15
The crew of Apollo 15, David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, and Alfred M. Worden, were the first to drive a moon rover. They spent more than 18 hours on the surface of the moon and traveled a total of 17 miles on the moon rover. -
Apollo 17's Return from the Moon
This mission continued the moon exploration, landing at the edge of the Sea of Serenity. Apollo 17 continued the use of the moon roover. It was an American mission that marked the last lunar landing of the program.
