-
Launching of Sputnik I
The Soviet Union sent the Sputnik out into space which was the first of anything that was launched into space. It helped with the research of the Earth's atmoshpere. -
Period: to
Space Race
-
Laika space dog
Laika, meaning "Barker", was the first animal to orbit the Earth. This female, Canis lupus familiaris dog specie was sent by the Soviet Union. She died within hours of the launch because of stress and overheating. -
Explorer I
Explorer I was the first American satellite that was sent to space. It was sent after the first two satellites launched into space the previous year, Sputnik I and II. It detected the Van Allen Belts of radiation that surrounded Earth. -
Luna I
Luna I is launched by the Soviet Union and is the first man made object to orbit around the sun. -
Yuri Gagarin
First man to enter outer space and orbit the earth. He was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut and orbited the earth for 108 minutes in his Vostok spacecraft. -
Alan Sephard
Alan Sephard was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer and NASA astronaut. He piloted the Freedom 7 misson and was the second person to fly into space but the first American to do so. He didn't orbit around Earth but traveled 300 miles and floated for 4 minutes. -
First Russian Woman in Space
At the age of 26, Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space and was sent by the Russians on the Vostok 6 spacecraft. -
Flight of Gemini Spacecraft
Gus Grissom and John Young fly the first manned Gemini spacecraft which was named Molly Brown -
Luna 9
Luna 9 was sent by the Russians and was the first space craft to have a soft luna landing. It took pictures of the surface of the moon. -
Lunar Orbiter I
Lunar Orbiter I orbits around the moon and takes the first picture of Earth that has a part of the moon in the picture from that distance. -
Launch pad test goes wrong
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee are killed when a fire ignites in their Apollo 1 capsule while performing a test on the launch pad. -
Zond 5
Zond 5 is launched by the Soviet Union. It carried a biological payload (including two turtles) around the Moon and returned to Earth six days later. -
First Precise Lunar Landing
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. -
First man to walk on the moon
Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the Moon alone. -
Apollo 17 Return From the Moon
Apollo 17 was the last and most recent landing on the moon by United States. The crew consisted of Ronald Evans, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt.
