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Sputnik 1
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
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TIMESPAN OF SPAC RACE
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Sputnik 2
USSR launches Sputnik 2 which carried a small dog named Laika into orbit. (first animal in space) -
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. -
Vanguard 1
A satelite launched into and continues to transmit for 3 years -
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space. -
John Glenn
John Glenn orbits the Earth three times. -
Valentina Tereshkova
The first Women in space is Soviet Valentina Tereshkova -
L Gordon Cooper
L. Gordon Cooper spends 34 hours in space. He is the last American to fly in space alone -
Alexei A. Leonov
made the first space walk for 12 minutes -
Luna 9
Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. -
Soyuz 4 & 5
Soyuz 4 & 5 perform the first Soviet spacecraft docking -
Pete Conrad and Alan Bean
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. -
Salyut 1
Space station launched by USSR REMAINS IN ORBIT UNTIL May 18, 1973 -
Apollo 17's Return
Apollo 17 was the last Apollo mission to land men on the Moon. It carried the only trained geologist to walk on the lunar surface, lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt. Compared to previous Apollo missions, Apollo 17 astronauts traversed the greatest distance using the Lunar Roving Vehicle and returned the greatest amount of rock and soil samples. -
Pioneer 10
becomes the first man-made object to travel through the astroid belt
