Space Race Timeline

By Jsaylors02

  • Soviets launch Sputnik 1

    Soviets launch Sputnik 1
    This was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. This was the beginning of the space age. It gave the Soviet Union the distinction of putting the first human-made object into space.

  • N.A.S.A is created

    N.A.S.A is created
    Nasa being created was directly related to the pressures of national defense after the Soviet Union launch of Sputnik. The significance of NASA being created was to focus on U.S. technological research, Congress and the president created a new federal agency.

  • Americans Successfully launch and return Ham, a chimpanzee.

    Americans Successfully launch and return Ham, a chimpanzee.
    They launched a chimpanzee into space to test the life support system and demonstrate that equipment could be operated during spaceflight. Ham's courage paved the way for Aln Shepard, Jr., the first American in space.

  • Mariner 4 becomes the first satellite to reach Mars.

    Mariner 4 becomes the first satellite to reach Mars.
    This was the first spacecraft to fly by Mars, and the first to return close-up images of the Red Planet. It was one of the great early successes of the agency, and indeed the Space Age, returning the very first photos of another planet from deep space.

  • Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space

    Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space
    Gargarin became the first person to travel to space. 3 weeks before Alan Shepard went to space the Soviet Union air force so he would be the first to travel beyond Earths atmosphere into the dark silence of space.

  • Americans land on the moon.

    Americans land on the moon.
    During this period it was during the Cold War and the latest theater for battle was space. The United States took this as an opportunity to promote leadership and demonstrate the technological advances of a free and democratic society.

  • Soviets launched the first space station.

    Soviets launched the first space station.
    As a response to the successful Apollo 11 landing the soviet government decided to develop the world's first civilian Earth orbital space station. In relation to this it also raised the tensions during the Cold War.

  • The first joint mission between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R

    The first joint mission between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R
    It was to test the compatibility of rendezvous and docking systems,s and the possibility of an internal space rescue. It set a precedent for future joint efforts.