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Launching of Sputnik I
Sputnik I was the first artificial satellite to be launched into Earth's orbit by the Soviet Union. This ignitiated the Sputnik crisis in the U.S. beginning the Space Race -
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Space Race Timeline
Launching of Sputnik 1 to Apollo 17 return -
USSR launches Sputnik II
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik II, the second spacecraft in orbit, that carried a dog named Laika. Thi s was the first living animal in space. -
Explorer I
Explorer I was the first satelite the U.S. put into space. This copied the Soviets Sputnik 1 and 2. -
Project SCORE
Project SCORE was the world’s first communications satellite. It provided a first test of a communications relay system in space, as well as the first successful use of the Atlas as a launch vehicle. It captured world attention by broadcasting a Christmas message from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower through an on-board tape recorder. -
Luna 1 (Mechta)
USSR launched Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and the first of the Luna program of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon. -
Vostok I
Vostok 1 was launched by the USSR and put the first human, Yuri Gagarin into orbit. It marked the first time a human encountered outer space. -
Telstar
It successfully relayed through space the first television pictures, telephone calls, fax images and provided the first live transatlantic television feed. -
Alouette 1
Alouette 1 was Canada's first satellite, and the first satellite constructed by a country other than the USSR or the United States. -
Vostok 6
USSR launshed Vostok 6, which was the first human spaceflight mission to carry a woman, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, into space. She was also the first civilian in space. -
Luna 9 soft-lands on the Moon
Luna 9 was the first space craft to soft-land on the moon launched by the Soviet Union. -
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was the second manned mission in the American Apollo space program. It was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit, to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of the moon and the first crewed voyage to return to Earth from the moon. -
Apollo 11- Man on Moon
Launched by NASA, Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon along with Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. They landed in the Sea of Tranquility. -
Salyut 1
Salyut was the first space station of any kind launched by the USSR. It was launched unmanned using a Proton-K rocket. Its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 days, but a pressure-equalization valve in the Soyuz 11 reentry capsule opened prematurely when the crew was returning, killing all three. The missions were temporarily suspended and the station was burned in the atmosphere purposely after a total of 6 months in orbit. -
Mariner 9
Mariner 9 was a NASA space orbiter that helped in the exploration of Mars and was part of the Mariner program. It became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet beating Soviet Mars 2 and Mars 3. -
Apollo 17's return from the moon
Apollo 17 was the last manned mission in the American Apollo sapce program. Apollo 17 broke several records 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. Eugene Cernan is the last man to have walked on the Moon.
