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first satelite, Sputnic
NASA Space raceThe Space Race Begins It is 1957 and the U.S. and the Soviet Union are locked into the Cold War. The Soviet Union has just launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik. Fearful of Soviet military control of space, the Americans quickly ready a rocket. With the world watching, it blows up. Making fun of then-President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, one newspaper proclaims, "Stayputnik. Ike's Sputnik Is a Flopnik."
The space race is on — and the Soviets are winning. -
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Space Race start and end
Aug, 21 1957 marked the start of the space race and Jul, 1 2004 marked the end of it. -
First Animal in Space
NASA First Animal in SpaceThe Soviet Union launches a female dog into space on Sputnik II. Her name is Laika, which means "barker" in Russian. She lives for seven days, proving that animals (and presumably humans) can survive in space. There is no way to bring her back alive, so Laika is put to sleep. Sputnik II falls to Earth in April of the next year. -
First Astronauts
NASA First people in spaceChoosing Seven Pioneers In 1958, the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) needs astronauts. President Eisenhower and the U.S. Congress have made it NASA's job to put the first human into space and restore America's standing in the world. President Eisenhower tells NASA to choose only military test pilots. Astronaut candidates must be no taller than 5 feet 11 inches, between the ages of 25 and 40, and have at least 1,500 hours of flying time. -
Race to the Moon
NASA Race to MoonRace to the Moon It is 1961 and the Soviet Union has just launched the first man into space. President Kennedy responds by saying, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."
Kennedy wants to show that America can defeat the Soviet Union in the space race. Both countries are sworn enemies fighting the Cold War, which will last for decades. Between 1963 and 1965, -
First Space Flights
NASA First Space flightFirst Space Flights
NASA had hoped that one of its astronauts would be the first human in space. But on April 12, 1961, the Soviets successfully launch Yuri Gagarin into orbit. He circles Earth in 108 minutes and lands safely.
On May 5, 1961, less than a month after Gagarin's flight, the U.S. sends astronaut Alan Shepard into space. His 15-minute sub-orbital flight doesn't impress the Soviets. But it shows that the Americans are still in the race. -
First Space Walk
NASA Space WalkCosmonaut Alexei Leonov takes the first space walk, a ten-minute tethered excursion outside Voshkod 2. On June 3, 1965, Edward White II is the first American to walk in space on Gemini 4. He stays out 22 minutes. -
First Death in Space
NASA Space DeathDuring a test on the launchpad, a fire kills Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Then, on April 24, 1967, the Soviet craft Soyuz 2 crashes on re-entry, killing Vladimir Komarov — the first cosmonaut to die during flight. -
Preparing for the Moon
NASA Moon prepNASA schedules Apollo 11 as the first manned mission to the moon. In January 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins are named as the crew for the historic flight. -
First Moon walk
NASA Moon walkThe First Moonwalk
It is 9:30 p.m. Houston time on July 20, 1969. Armstrong and Aldrin put on their bulky moon suits and prepare to take the first steps on the moon.
Armstrong is the first to wriggle out of a square hole in the Eagle. Once outside, he lowers a small drawbridge that holds a TV camera. Now the world can watch as he backs down the ladder.
Back on the home planet, 600 million people watch on television. Armstrong touches the moon's surface and says, "That's one small step for man.. -
Lunar Landing
NASA Moon LandingLunar Landing
On the morning of July 20, 1969, Collins helps Armstrong and Aldrin through a tunnel into the tiny Eagle
Alone on Columbia, Collins worries about his friends. "You cats take it easy on the lunar surface," he tells them over the radio.
Armstrong and Aldrin fly face down, then flip over and see Earth — a quarter-million miles away. When they are just 12 minutes from landing, they fire the engines. Suddenly, lights flash in the cockpit. "Program alarm!" Armstrong barks. -
Returning home
NASA Returning homeOn July 24, the capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. The race to the moon is over. An aircraft carrier plucks Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins from the ocean. President Nixon is onboard. He says, "This is the greatest week in the history of the world since creation. As a result of what you have done, the world has never been closer together." A Marine band plays "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The astronauts watch everything from behind a little glass window. They are stuck in quarantine. -
First Space Rescue
NASA Space RescueAn oxygen tank explodes aboard Apollo 13. With help from Mission Control, the crew — Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert — return to Earth safely four days later. -
First USA Space Lab
NASA space shuttleThe Space Shuttle Program
In 1973, NASA sends its first space station, Skylab, into orbit. But Skylab is abandoned in 1974. It costs too much to keep it supplied. NASA needs a cheaper way to get crews and supplies to and from space. So, they design the Space Transportation System (STS) with reusable boosters for launch and a shuttle that lands like an airplane.
Astronauts with new skills are needed for the shuttle program. NASA looks beyond military pilots to scientists. -
First year in Space
NASA Year in SpaceMusa Manarov and Vladimir Titov complete 366 days on the Russian space station, Mir. This record is broken on March 22, 1995, when cosmonaut Valery Poyakov returns to Earth after spending 437 days and 18 hours (1.19 years) in orbit. -
First Space Telescope
NASA First Space TelescopeThe crew of space shuttle mission STS-31 deploy the Hubble Space Telescope. Soon thereafter, the Hubble's primary mirror is found to be damaged. In December 1993, the crew of space shuttle STS-61 corrects the problem during space walks watched live on television by millions of people. The Hubble Space Telescope then provides the first images of distant galaxies and planets outside our solar system. -
First Spacecraft to leave the Solar system
NASA Solar systemPioneer 10, launched on March 2, 1972, reaches a distance 50 times farther from the sun than Earth, becoming the first spacecraft to leave the solar system. Earlier in its mission, it had also become the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and reach Jupiter. Currently, it is 6.5 billion miles away, heading toward the constellation Taurus. -
First International Space station
NASA Space stationPhase 1 of the International Space Station (ISS) program begins with the flight of Russian Sergei Krikalev on an American space shuttle during the STS-60 mission. In March of 1995, Dr. Norm Thagard becomes the first American to stay on Russian space station Mir. Phase 1 ends with the return of Andy Thomas from Mir in June 1998. -
First Mars Rover
NASA First Mars RoverArriving aboard the space probe Pathfinder, the robot Sojourner explores the surface of Mars. The six-wheeled, remote-controlled, solar-powered rover sends images of the planet’s surface and investigates chemical properties of Martian soil. During the Sojourner’s three months in action, the Pathfinder mission yielded tons of photographs and scientific findings. -
China Sends their first man to Space
NASA China in SpaceChina successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space. This makes China the third country to send a human into space; only the United States and Soviet Union had successfully done so before. Yang Liwei remained in space for 21 hours, and was given a hero’s welcome when he landed safely. -
First Space Craft to orbit Saturn
NASA SaturnCassini-Huygens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around Saturn. Later in the year the spacecraft flew within 800 miles of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Titan is also the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere.
