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Period: to
Odyssey
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Sputnik 1
, the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until January 4, 1958 -
Sputnik 2
carrying the dog Laika for 7 days in orbit, is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until April 13, 1958. -
Tiros 1
the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the U.S. -
Mariner 7
returns high-resolution images of the Martian surface, concentrating on the southern hemisphere -
Apollo 13
is launched, suffering an explosion in its SM oxygen tanks. Its Moon landing is aborted, and the crew, James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr. and Fred W. Haise, Jr., return safely. -
Pioneer 11
reaches Saturn, flying to within 13,000 miles and taking the first close-up photographs. -
Columbia
The first manned mission of the Space Transportation System (STS-1) is launched. -
Galileo
U.S. launches the spacecraft from Shuttle Atlantis flight STS-34, which took infrared images of Venus, and images of the asteroid Ida, before continuing to Jupiter. -
U.S. Pegasus
rocket is deployed from a B-52 bomber, and launched the Pegsat satellite in the first demonstration of the Pegasus launch vehicle. -
Discovery
Space Shuttle launches on STS-31, deploying the Edwin P. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) astronomical observatory.
