SPACE RACE

Sputnick (USSR)

Oct 4, 1957

First Manmade object to go into space; launched by Russia. This marked the beginning of the Space Race between USSR and America.

First Animal in Space (USSR)

Nov 3, 1957

In 1957, a young female dog named Laika was chosen to be the first animal in space. She died within hours of the launch from stress and overheating. The people who sent her into space had no expectation of her survival.

Explorer I (USA)

Jan 31, 1958

When America decided to catch up to USSR, they sent Explorer 1 into space. It ended up detecting the Van Allen Belts of radiation that surrounded the earth.

Yuri Gagarin (USSR)

Apr 12, 1961

Being the First man in space, he was recognized worldwide. While orbiting for 108 minutes, he was raised from Senior Lieutenant to Major.

Alan Shepard (USA)

May 7, 1961

As the first American in space, Alan Shepard traveled 300 miles in space for 15 minutes. He was in Zero G for four minutes, but he never achieved orbit.

Voskhod I (USSR)

Oct 12, 1964

This Soviet spaceflight was the first in the world to carry more than one man into space. Without the use of spacesuits, this flight set a manned spaceflight record distance of 209 miles.

Aleksei Leonov (USSR)

Mar 18, 1965

With only 45 minutes of oxygen, this Soviet Cosmonaut was the first man to conduct the "Space Walk"; he walked for 12 minutes.

Apollo 1

Jan 27, 1967

This mission was supposed to be the first manned mission of the Apollo spaceflight program, but a failed routine capsule test ended up killing the flight crew in just 17 seconds as a result of suffocation from fire.

Apollo 7

Oct 11, 1968

After the Apollo 1 tragedy, America was afraid of going to into space. This mission was an 11-day orbital mission that was called a confidence-builder. It was also the first American 3-man space flight.

Apollo 8 (USA)

Dec 21, 1968

This spaceflight was the first to leave earth's orbit, first to enter another celestial body's orbit and escape it, and the first to return safely from another celestial body. By circling around, it was the first mission to reach and the far side of the moon.

Apollo 9

Mar 3, 1969

The object of this mission was mainly to test the new lunar module, which would later play a huge part in future space flights. Its crew consisted of Commander Jim McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart.

Apollo 10

May 18, 1969

Only being the test run, or "dress rehearsal" for Apollo 11, this mission, to this day, holds the record for fastest manned spaceflight at a speed of 24,791 mph.

Apollo 11 (USA)

Jul 16, 1969

Carrying the world hero, Neil Armstrong, this spaceflight had won the space race for the US against the USSR by achieving the milestone of 1st man on the moon. When the crew returned home, they brought back nearly 48 pounds of lunar rock.

Apollo 13

Apr 11, 1970

Famously known as the "successful failure", Apollo 13 holds true to its nickname. Initially, the mission's object was to land on the moon for the third time in history. However, after an oxygen tank exploded and severely damaged the spacecraft, the landing had to be aborted and the new mission was to return ASAP. Despite hardships, with the help of the lunar module, the crew was able to return home safely.

Apollo 17 (USA)

Dec 7, 1972

As the final mission of the Apollo space program, this spaceflight broke several records set by previous flights, including the longest manned lunar landing flight; the longest total lunar surface extravehicular activities; the largest lunar sample return, and the longest time in lunar orbit.