20180120 ldd002 0

Space Race Timeline - Taryn Mattingly

By mattitar

  • Laugh of Sputnik - First satellite by USSR

    Laugh of Sputnik - First satellite by USSR
    The launching of Sputnik 1 was the start of the space race. It was the first artificial Earth satellite.

  • Laika the dog - First animal to orbit Earth / USSR

    Laika the dog - First animal to orbit Earth / USSR
    Laika was a soviet space dog who was the first successful astronaut to orbit the Earth in Sputnik 2. Although she did not get to return home.

  • Explorer 1 - First satellite in space by USA

    Explorer 1 - First satellite in space by USA
    Explorer 1 was the first successful US satellite.

  • Creation of NASA

    Creation of NASA
    The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 was signed by President Eisenhower. It was created in response to Soviet advances in space exploration.

  • Ham the Chimp - Chimpanzee performing tasks by USA

    Ham the Chimp - Chimpanzee performing tasks by USA
    First chimpanzee used to perform tasks in space by USA. Ham flew in the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission and proved that mankind could work and live in space.

  • Yuri Gagarin - First man in space by USSR

    Yuri Gagarin - First man in space by USSR
    Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 and was titled a "Hero of the Soviet Union" upon his return.

  • Alan Shepard - First man in space by USA

    Alan Shepard - First man in space by USA
    He was the second man to travel in space in NASA's Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7.

  • John H. Glen - First man to orbit Earth by USA

    John H. Glen - First man to orbit Earth by USA
    He became the first American to orbit the Earth. His trip was aboard a spacecraft that he gave the name Friendship 7.

  • JFK's speech about getting to the moon

    JFK's speech about getting to the moon
    JFK is quoted in his speech saying, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. . ." JFK expresses his commitment on reaching the moon before 1970.

  • Alexi Leonov - First man to do an EVA by USSR

    Alexi Leonov - First man to do an EVA by USSR
    Leonov was the first person to ever leave a spacecraft. He was on the Voskhod 2 mission and outside of the ship for 12 minutes and 9 seconds.

  • Ed White - First man to do an EVA by USA

    Ed White - First man to do an EVA by USA
    Became the first American to conduct a spacewalk aboard the Gemini 4 mission.

  • Gemini VIII Mission

    Gemini VIII Mission
    Gemini VIII's mission was to perform docking tests with the Agena target vehicle and to do an EVA. Aboard the Gemini VIII were Neil Armstrong and David Scott, and their mission lasted 10 hours and 41 minutes. Their trip was cut short due to a short circuit, yet their mission was still successful in proving that NASA's docking mechanism worked.