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First satellite in space by USSR
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the Earth's first artificial satellite. -
First animal in space by USSR
Laika was the first dog launched into space on the Sputnik 2 by the Soviet Union. -
First satellite in space by USA
The first satellite launched into space by the USA was Explorer 1. This was also the first satellite to carry science instruments. -
Creation of NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, signed by President Eisenhower, created NASA. -
First animal in space by USA (Ham the chimp)
Ham was the first chimpanzee launched into space by the US. -
First man in space by USSR
The first man launched into space by the USSR was Yuri Gagarin. He circled Earth in the Vostok 1. -
First man in space by USA
Alan Shepard was the first man in space by the USA. He piloted the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule. -
JFK's speech and commitment to getting to the moon
JFK told Congress that the US "should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." -
First man to orbit Earth by USA
John Glenn was the first man to orbit Earth by the USA. He was in NASA's first astronaut class, the Mercury 7. -
First man to do an EVA by USSR
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first man to do an EVA by the USSR. He spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the Voskhod 2. -
First man to do an EVA by USA
Edward White was the first man to do an EVA in the USA. Ed opened the Gemini 4 and pulled himself out into space. -
First rendezvous (Gemini VI-A with Gemini VII)
Gemini VI and Gemini VII met in space, which was not NASA's original plan. -
Original Gemini 9 Crew
Command pilot Elliot See and pilot Charles Bassett were killed in a plane crash. Where technicians were preparing the Gemini IX spacecraft for shipment to the launch site, their T-38 Talon clipped the McDonnell building. -
First docking of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft (Gemini VIII with Agena)
The Gemini VIII launched into space with Neil Armstrong and David Scott. Gemini VIII docked with an agenda target vehicle launched earlier in the day. -
First propulsion maneuver with docked Agena (Gemini X)
Gemini X carried John Young and Michael Collins. It managed to rendezvous and do docking tests with the Agenda target vehicle. -
Apollo 1 Crew
During a launch test, a fire erupted through the Apollo 1 Command Module, killing astronauts Gus Grissom (left), Ed White (middle), and Roger Chaffee (right). -
The launch of Apollo 7
Apollo 7 has a total of 163 orbits and a flight of 10 days and 20 hours. The crew (Walter Schirra, Jr, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham) landed in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda. -
The launch of Apollo 8
The Apollo 8 carried Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr., and William Anders. This spacecraft was the first to leave Earth's orbit and reach the Moon. -
The launch of Apollo 9
The Apollo 9 was the third spacecraft to be in NASA's Apollo program. It held James A. McDivitt (CMDR), David R. Scott (CMP) and Russell L. Schweickart (LMP). It had a successful 10-day orbit-around mission before it splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean recovery area -
The launch of Apollo 10
Apollo 10 was the fourth spacecraft to be in the US Apollo program. It carried L. Gordon Cooper Jr as commander, Donn F. Eisele as command module pilot, and Edgar D. Mitchell as lunar module pilot. It had a mission of 192 hrs, 3 mins, and 23 secs before it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. -
The launch of Apollo 11
Apollo 11 is the spacecraft that landed humans on the moon for the first time. It carried Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.