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USA Fruit Flies
The first ever animal sent into space by the US were fruit flies aboard the V2 rocket. They were used so scientist could study the effects of radiation. -
USSR Sputnik
The Soviet Union (USSR) launched the first satellite in space called the sputnik. It weighed around 183 pounds and orbited around the Earth´s elliptical pathway in about 98 minutes. -
USA Explorer 1
The USA launched the Explorer 1 a year after the USSR launched SPutnik in response (because of the Cold War happening during that time). The Explorer 1 weighs around 30 pounds and orbited the Earth for 114 minutes. -
USA NASA
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Act) was created in response to the USSR launching the first space satellite in space with Eisenhower signed the act. -
USSR Belka and Strelka
Belka and Strelka were the first animals launched into space and successfully was able to bring back alive by the USSR. The two female dogs orbited the Earth for a solid 24 hours. -
USSR astronaut Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was also the first man to orbit earth as well, circling the Earth once in a spacecraft called the Vostok. After his successful orbit, Yuri traveled around the world extensively to promote the Soviet Space program. -
USA Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard was the first US astronaut to be launched into space. He rode aboard the Freedom 7 that was launched at Cape Canaveral in florida. -
JFK
President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade. -
USA John Glenn
USA astronaut John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth. His orbit pathway circled him around the earth 3 times or 4 hours and 56 minutes. -
Alexei Leonov EVA USSR
The first USSR EVA was performed by Alexei Leonov. He was able to last 12 minutes outside of the spacecraft Voskhod. -
Gemini 3
Gemini 3 was the first ever crewed mission. US Crew members (astronauts) Gus Grissom and John Young orbited the Earth around 3 times or about 88 minutes. -
Gemini 6A
Gemini mission 6A was the first to achieve rendezvous with another spacecraft, its sister Gemini 7 by its crew members Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford. -
Gemini 11
The Gemini 11 mission was to achieve a first orbit rendezvous and docking with the Agena target vehicle, to accomplish two ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA) tests, and to perform docking practice. This was all performed by Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon. -
Apollo 1 Crew Tragedy
Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee were caught in a fire inside the Apollo 1 command module due to a malfunction/error. They were performing a launch rehearsal test when the disaster occured. -
Soyuz 1 USSR
Soyuz 1 was the first USSR fatal crash. Astronaut Vladimir Komarov crashed when entering back into the Earth's atmosphere. -
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 was the first manned test of the Command and Service Module. The crew, Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham orbited the Earth 163 times and spent 10 days and 20 hours in space. -
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 crew Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders spacecraft were the first crewedd to leave low Earth orbit and the first to reach the Moon, orbit it, and return. -
Apollo 9
Apollo 9 was the first launch of the full Apollo spacecraft. Astronauts Rusty Schweickart, David Scott, and Jim McDivitt were the crew of the mission. -
Apollo 10
The apollo 10 mission was a ¨dress rehearsal¨"for the next mission on the agenda: The Moon landing. Astronauts Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan were apart of the mission, being only 47,000 feet away from the moon and even possibly landing on it. -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed on the Moon, with Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin and Michael Collins. -
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin USA EVA
The first ever lunar walk was performed by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin when they landed on the moon lasting 2 hours and 36 minutes.
