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Launching of Sputnik 1
The first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, and was the first in a series of satellites collectively known as the Sputnik program. -
Sputnik 2
The first living creature (larger than a microbe) to enter orbit was a female part-Samoyed terrier originally named Laika. It was revealed by Russian sources that Laika had already died after a few hours from overheating and stress, not suffocation, as is commonly believed. -
Explorer 1; first American satellite to reach orbit
Was the first Earth satellite of the United States, launched as part of its participation in the International Geophysical Year. The mission followed the first two Earth satellites the previous year, the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 and 2, beginning the Cold War Space Race between the two nations. -
Explorer 2 is launched but fails to reach orbit
Explorer 2 was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a failure in the rocket during launch, the spacecraft did not reach orbit. -
NASA replaces NACA
NASA's charter is to expand frontiers in air and space, to inspire and serve America, and to benefit the quality of life on Earth. -
Luna 1, first man made object to orbit Sun
was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and the first of the Luna program of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon. While traveling through the outer Van Allen radiation belt, the spacecraft's scintillator made observations indicating that a small number of high energy particles exist in the outer belt. -
Luna 3 gets 70% of the moon surface
Though it returned rather poor pictures by later standards, the historic, never-before-seen views of the far side of the Moon caused excitement and interest when they were published around the world, and a tentative Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon was created after image processing improved the pictures -
The US launches Discoverer XIV, its first camera equipped spy satellite.
The Discoverer XIV is the first satellite to be ejected from an orbiting space vehicle and to be recovered in midair. Discoverer XIV was launched into a polar (north-south) orbit -
Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.
He was the first human being to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961. -
Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.
NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. Ten years later, he commanded the Apollo 14 mission, and became the fifth person to walk on the Moon -
John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.
United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and third American in space -
Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
The first woman in space, now a retired Soviet cosmonaut. Out of more than four hundred applicants and then out of five finalists, she was selected to pilot Vostok 6 on the 16th of June 1963 and became the first woman to fly in space. -
Alexei Leonov spends 12 minutes outside of his Voskhod spacecraft performing the first spacewalk.
Is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and Air Force Major General who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct a space walk. -
Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon
He was the first person to set foot on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin was the second person to set foot on the Moon -
Apollo 17's return from the moon
was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program.
