The Space Race

Space Race era

Period: Dec 3, 1956 to Feb 3, 1970

anything before is pre- space race and anything after is post space race

Sputnik 1

Oct 4, 1957

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite which made one revolution every 90 minutes

Sputnik 2

Nov 3, 1957

Sputnik 2, carrying Laika the dog, was launched by the USSR. Laika later died shortly after liftoff due to complications in the shuttle like overheating and stress

Explorer 1

Jan 31, 1958

After two failed attempts the United States finally successfully launched their first Satellite, Explorer 1 into space

Vanguard 1

Mar 17, 1958

Although communication was lost in 1964 it remains as the oldest Satellite that is still in space.

Luna 1

Jan 2, 1959

Luna 1, the first human made satellite to orbit the moon, was launched by the USSR.

First space walk

Mar 18, 1965

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The first space walk was conducted by Alexei A. Leonov for a duration of 12 minutes aboard the Soviet Vostok 2 .

First US space walk

Jun 3, 1965

Edward White made the first U.S. space walk with a total time of 22 minutes aboard the Gemini 4.

Luna 9 landing

Feb 3, 1966

Soviet Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon

Venera 3

Mar 1, 1966

Soviet Venera 3, the first spacecraft to reach another planet, landed onto Venus but It failed to return data.

USSR Luna 10

Mar 1, 1966

Soviet Luna 10 was the first spacecraft to orbit the moon.

First picture of earth from the moon

Aug 14, 1966

Aug. 14, 1966 U.S. Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first picture of the Earth from the distance of the moon

Soyuz 1 crash

Aug 23, 1967

Soviet Soyuz 1 crashed,the first human space flight fatality, killing Vladimir M. Komarov.

One giant leap for mankind

Jun 20, 1969

Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. aboard Apollo 11 made the first staffed soft landing on the moon and the first moonwalk

1st return of lunar soil samples

Sep 12, 1970

Soviet Luna 16 was launched, which conducted the first successful return of lunar soil samples of an automatic spacecraft.

Apollo 14 mission launched

Jan 31, 1971

Apollo 14 moon mission was launched by the United States. The main purpose was to explore the moon and transport lunar material. Alan Shepard becomes the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.