Space Race timeline

First animal in space by USA

Feb 20, 1947

First animal sent to space by the US was Fruit Flies, a monkey.

First satellite in space by USSR

Oct 4, 1957

Sputnik 1

First animal in space by USSR

Nov 3, 1957

Laika, Sputnik II carried Laika into orbit.

First satellite in space by USA

Jan 31, 1958

Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched into space by the US.

Creation of NASA

Jul 29, 1958

The U.S. congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

First man in space by USSR

Apr 12, 1961

Aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space.

First man to orbit Earth by USSR

Apr 12, 1961

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes.

First man in space by USA

May 5, 1961

58 years ago, Alan Shepard was launched into history aboard a Mercury Redstone rocket (originally used by the U.S. Army for missiles), becoming the first American astronaut in space.

JFK's speech and commitment to getting to the moon

May 25, 1961

"For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace," (google)

First man to orbit Earth by USA

Feb 20, 1962

From Cape Canaveral, Florida, John Herschel Glenn Jr. is successfully launched into space aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut.

First man to do an EVA by USSR

Mar 18, 1965

The first EVA was performed by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

First man to do an EVA by USA

Jul 21, 1969

American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin performed the first EVA on the lunar surface