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Space Race Timeline

  • First Satellite in Space by USSR

    First Satellite in Space by USSR
    Sputnik 1 was the first satellite in space by the USSR. It was manufactured by Energia
  • First Animal in space to Orbit Earth for USSR

    First Animal in space to Orbit Earth for USSR
    Laika was a Soviet Space dog. She was originally a stray on in Moscow. She was aboard the USSR spacecraft Sputnik 2
  • First Satellite in Space by USA

    First Satellite in Space by USA
    The explorer 1 was the first US Satellite in space. It was launched from Cape Canaveral. It was able to orbit Earth every 1 hour 54 minutes.
  • Creation of NASA

    Creation of NASA
    President Dwight D Eisenhower signed a law approving for NASA in response to the USSR continuous advances in space exploration
  • First Chimpanzee Used to Perform Tasks in Space by USA

    First Chimpanzee Used to Perform Tasks in Space by USA
    HAM the chimp was the first chimpanzee to perform any space task. He was on the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission and reached altitude of 157 Miles. He returned in good health from space giving hope for future space travel
  • First Man in Space by USSR

    First Man in Space by USSR
    Yuri Gagarin was the first human to ever enter space. He was in space for 1 hour and 48 minutes and made a singular orbit around Earth aboard the Vostok 1
  • First Man in Space by USA

    First Man in Space by USA
    Alan Shepard was an American astronaut and was the second man to ever enter space. He completed a sub-orbital flight aboard NASAs Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7.
  • First Man to Orbit Earth by USA

    First Man to Orbit Earth by USA
    John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth aboard the spacecraft Friendship 7 which he named. He was played by Glen Powell in hidden figures !
  • JFK's Speech and Commitment to Getting to the Moon

    JFK's Speech and Commitment to Getting to the Moon
    John F Kennedy's speech had a key theme behind it that it was very crucial for the United States to be the first country to reach the Moon. Similar to the saying "losing the battle but winning the war" The US was behind the USSR in every space exploration advance however if they could reach the moon first they would win the Space Race.
  • First Man to do an EVA by USSR

    First Man to do an EVA by USSR
    Russian Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to leave his spacecraft Voskhod 2 to further space exploration.
  • Gemini 3 Mission

    Gemini 3 Mission
    It was the first crewed Earth orbiting spacecraft. Piloted by Virgil "Gus" Grissom and John Young. Was a three orbit mission and was the first lifting reentry of a spacecraft with people aboard.
  • First man to do an EVA by USA

    First man to do an EVA by USA
    Ed White was aboard the Gemini 4 mission and he became the first American to do a spacewalk
  • Original Gemini 9 Crew

    Original Gemini 9 Crew
    Elliot M. See and Charles A. Bassett were named to be the prime crew members aboard the Gemini 9 mission. However, both See and Bassett died in a plane crash as they were landing at the St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Due to poor weather the aircraft went into a building.
  • Gemini 8 Mission

    Gemini 8 Mission
    Had 10 technological, medical and scientific carry out while aboard. Sixth crewed Earth orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini missions. Neil Armstrong and David Scott were aboard and it was both of their first space flights.
  • Gemini 11 Mission

    Gemini 11 Mission
    The ninth crewed Earth orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini missions. It was a 3 day mission and was used to accomplish two EVA tests and accomplish the first orbit rendezvous and docking with the Agent target vehicle. As well as scientific experiments such as radiation on white blood cells, synoptic weather photography and UV astronomical photography. Aboard was Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. and it was his second space flight. Richard F Gordon Jr. and it was his first spaceflight
  • Apollo 1 Tragedy

    Apollo 1 Tragedy
    At the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee all lost their lives when a fire occurred in their command unit.
  • Apollo 7 Mission - First Crewed Apollo Mission

    Apollo 7 Mission - First Crewed Apollo Mission
    Walter Schirra Jr, R. Walter Cunningham, and Donn F Eisele were the astronauts aboard. This was a huge milestone in the Apollo missions because this was the first successful crewed Apollo mission
  • Apollo 8 Mission - Lunar Landing Preparation

    Apollo 8 Mission - Lunar Landing Preparation
    Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr, and William Anders all were aboard this mission. Apollo 8 helped set up on flight communication and course changes. Tested systems and procedures to set up for success on later lunar missions
  • Apollo 9 Mission - First Flight of the full Apollo Spacecraft

    Apollo 9 Mission - First Flight of the full Apollo Spacecraft
    Astronauts James A. McDivitt, Russell L. Schweickart, David R. Scott were all aboard an Earth Orbiting Engineering Test. It flew in low Earth Orbit
  • Apollo 10 Mission - Prepared for Moon Landing

    Apollo 10 Mission - Prepared for Moon Landing
    Astronauts Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan, John Young all completed a lunar orbit in a separate module. Completed 12 television transmissions to Earth.
  • Apollo 11 Mission - Man on the moon

    Apollo 11 Mission - Man on the moon
    Completed the goal set by President John F. Kennedy. That which astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins performed a crewed lunar landing meaning they landed on the moon and returned to Earth safely