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Sputnik
On October 4,1957 a Soviet Union probe was launched into space. lt became the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. -
Sputnik 2
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. -
Luna 1
first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R. -
Vostok
The first piloted space flight was made on April 12, 1961, when Yuri A. Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, orbited Earth in the spaceship Vostok (later called Vostok 1). -
Shepard
Gagarin was the first person to accomplish such a feat. Within a month of the Soviets launching sputnik, the United States had responded by launching Shepard into space on May 5, 1961, although he did not orbit Earth. -
Skylab
Skylab is a large space station. Skylab was first launched on May 14, 1973, but it experienced some malfunctions that threatened to make it uninhabitable. A second launch two weeks later brought three astronauts who fixed the problems and proceeded to inhabit Skylab for a month and conduct experiments. -
Moon voyage
Neil Armstrong steped foot in the moon. Before leaving, the astronauts left a U.S. flag, reminders honoring both U.S. and Soviet astronauts who had died in the pursuit of space exploration, -
Skylab
Skylab is a large space station. Skylab was first launched on May 14, 1973, but it experienced some malfunctions that threatened to make it uninhabitable. A second launch two weeks later brought three astronauts who fixed the problems and proceeded to inhabit Skylab for a month and conduct experiments. -
time in space
On Sept. 7, 1996, astronaut Shannon Lucid, aboard Mir, broke the record for consecutive days in space by a woman with her 169th day. The previous record of 168 days had been set by cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova in 1995. -
Columbia
On April 12, 1981, the United States space shuttle Columbia blasted off. The shuttle was consider a success and they created more space shuttles.
