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Launch of Sputnik I
The USSR sends the Sputnik satellite into space. It was the size of a basketball. -
Period: to
Space Race
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USSR Launches Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2 is sent into space by the USSR with a dog on board by the name of Laika -
Explorer 1
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. -
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed
NASA is formed to replace the NACA -
Yuri Gagarin Orbits the Earth
Yuri Gagarin, a Russian Astronaut, orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space. -
Alan Shepard goes into space
Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space with his sub-orbital flight lasting 15 minutes. -
Grissom sub-orbital flight, second American in space
Gus Grissom is launched on a sub-orbital flight. His Liberty-Bell capsule is lost when it fills with water and sinks after splashdown -
Vostok 2 flight
Gherman Titov spends 1 day in space aboard Vostok 2 sent by the USSR. -
Alexei Leonev preforms first spacewalk
Sent by the USSR, Alexei Leonev is the first man to "walk" in space. -
First manned Gemini flight
Gus Grissom and John Young fly the first manned Gemini spacecraft. -
USSR Vanera 4
The Russian Vanrea 4 transmits data about the atmosphere of Venus. -
First men to walk on the moon!!!
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are the first men to walk on the moon and theyre American! -
Preision Lunar Landing Surveyor 3 probe
Pete Conrad and Alan Bean perform the first precision lunar landing, touching down just 600 feet from the Surveyor 3 probe that arrived two years earlier -
Mariner 9 orbits Mars
The Mariner 9 is the first satellite to orbit another planet. -
Return of Apollo 17
The very last Apollo space flight returns from the moon.
