-
USSR launch Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite launched by the Soviet Union. It was a 58 cm diameter polished metal sphere, with fourl antennas to broadcast radio pulses. The launch of Sputnik I marked the start of the space age and space race between the US and the USSR. -
USSR launch Sputnik 2
Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit and the first to carry a living earth organism into space, a dog named Laika. Sputnik II carried many scientific instuments on board, many of which monitered Laikas condition and effects that space had on her. Laika was planned to orbit earth for 10 days but most likely only survived 2 days because of the heat inside her cabin. The mission provided scientists with the first data on the behavior of a living organism in space. -
USA launch Explorer 1
Explorer I was the first sattelite launched by the United States following the launch of the Soviets Sputnik I. The main science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation in Earth orbit. Explorer discovered the radiation belts which cirlcle the earth which were named after Dr. James A. van Allen who designed and built the instrument on Explorer which discovered these belts. -
USA launch Explorer 2
Explorer 2 was the second satellite launched by the US and was apart of the notable Explorer mission series , however, it did not reach the same success or heights as its predecessor, Explorer 1. On launch day, the fouth stage of the Jupiter-C rocket carrying the satellite failed to ignite, and the mission was scapped. -
USA launch the Vanguard 1 sattelite
Vanguard 1 was a small satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle and the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems during Earth orbit. It also was used to obtain geodetic measurements through orbit analysis. The Vanguard I sattelite lost communication with earth in 1964 but remains the oldest manmade sattelite to orbit the earth today. -
USSR launch Sputnik 3
Sputnik 3 was ascientific laboratory spacecraft. The twelve scientific instruments on board provided data on pressure and composition of the upper atmosphere, concentration of charged particles, photons in cosmic rays, heavy nuclei in cosmic rays, magnetic and electrostatic fields, and meteoric particles. The outer radiation belts of the Earth were also detected during its time in orbit. The spacecraft remained in orbit until April 6, 1960. -
The National Aeronatics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formed in October 1958, heavily influenced by the successful launch of Sputnik in 1957 by the USSR. NASA replaces its predecessor, National Advisory Commitee for Aeronatics (NACA). -
USA launch Pioneer 1
Pioneer 1 was the first spacecraft launched by the newly formed NASA and was intended to study the ionizing radiation, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and micrometeorites in the vicinity of the Earth and in Moon orbit. Due to a malfunction during launch, the spacecraft reached a total height of 113,800km and never reached the Moon. It did however return with some useful scientific data and information such as the denstity of micrometeorites in earth orbit. -
USSR launch Luna 1
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon. The spacecraft was sphere-shaped, there were no propulsion systems on the Luna 1 spacecraft itself. Because of its high velocity and its announced package of various metallic emblems with the Soviet coat of arms, it was concluded that it intented to impact the moon.The primary objective of the mission was to collect data such as temperature and pressure inside the vehicle, and measuring the magnetic fields of the Earth and moon. -
USA launch Pioneer 4
The Pioneer 4 mission was the second of two earlier attempts by the US to send a spacecraft to the moon. Designed primarily to photograph the moon up close, Pioneer 4 acieved its goal and flew past the moon, but at a much farther distance than planned. Because of this trajectory error, the camera sensor failed to trigger. Pioneer 4 did however provide extensive and very valuable information on radiation and the tracking of space objects. Contact was lost on March 5, 1959. -
The "Mercury Seven" astronauts are announced by NASA
The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts selected by NASA. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program. These seven original American astronauts were Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton. -
USSR launch Luna 2
Luna 2 was the second spacecraft launched in the direction of the Moon and it was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon. Luna 2 was similar in design to Luna 1, a spherical shaped spacecraft with protruding antennae. The instrumentation was also similar and also had no propulsion system. The mission confirmed that the Moon had no magnetic field, and found no evidence of radiation belts surrounding the Moon. -
USSR launch Luna 3
Luna 3, was the third spacecraft successfully launched to the Moon and the first to return images of the moons far side. The spacecraft returned very indistinct pictures, but, through computer enhancement, an atlas of the lunar farside was produced. These first views of the lunar far side showed mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and many dark regions. -
USA launch Tiros 1
The Tiros I weather sattelites main objective was to test television techniques designed to develop a worldwide meteorological satellite information system and to test Sun angle and horizon sensor systems for spacecraft orientation. The sattelite was fitted with cameras and managed to relay thousands of photos of cloud covers around the earth. Although Tiros I was only operational for 78 days, it proved that sattelites would be a good tool for surveying weather from space. -
USA launch Discoverer 14
Discoverer 14 was the first successful low resolution photo surveillance satellite launched by the US. The primary goal of the Discoverer program was to develop a surveillance satellite to assess how rapidly the Soviet Union was producing long-range bombers and ballistic missiles and where they were being deployed, and also to replace the U2 spyplane in some circumstances. -
John F Kennedy is elected president of the United States
John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States and the youngest man elected to office. The U.S. space program went into full throttle when President Kennedy challenged the nation to claim a leadership role in space over the Soviets and land a man on the Moon before the decade ends. -
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space
Russian cosmonaut and Soviet piolet Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into space, making a 108-minute orbital flight around the earth once in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. -
Alan B Shepard becomes the first American man in space
Alan Shepard was the first American in space and the second person in space, launching on a suborbital flight in his freedom 7 Mercury capsule just 3 weeks after Gagarin. Alan Shepard was one of NASA's first astronauts. -
President Kennedy challenges America to go to the moon
President John F. Kennedy announces his dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon and back before the end of the decade. President Kennedy felt great pressure to have the United States catch up to and overtake the Soviet Union in the space race. NASA's human spaceflight efforts were guided by Kennedy's speech. Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were designed to achieve Kennedy's goal. -
Gus Grissom becomes the second American in space and later sinks his Liberty Bell capsule
Virgil "Gus" Grissom was a NASA astronaut and was one of NASA's first astronauts. Grissom's first flight was piloting the Liberty Bell 7 capsule, which flew a 15-minute suborbital flight. It was the second manned flight of the Mercury spacecraft, and used explosive bolts on the door so the astronaut could leave the capsule quickly after landing. After landing something prematurely triggered the hatch and caused the door to blow open causing the capsule to sink and was later retrieved in 1999. -
Gherman Titov spends a day in space aboard Vostok 2
The next goal of the Soviet space programme after Yuri Gagarins historic flight was to see what the effects of a longer journey were on humans. Gherman Titov was the second man to orbit the Earth, and the first to spend an entire day in space. His voyage lasted 25 hrs 18 mins, orbiting the earth 17.5 times and during it Titov also became the first man to sleep in space, eat, film the Earth and experience Space sickness due to the effects of prolonged weightlesness. -
NASA announces the Gemini Program
The Gemini Program was started as a bridge between NASA's Mercury and Apollo programs, the Gemini program mainly tested new equipment and procedures and trained astronauts and ground crew for the future Apollo missions. The overall objectives of the program included long stays in space duration flights, testing the ability to maneuver spacecraft, training astronauts and ground crew, and many more experiments. There were a total of 19 launches made during the program. -
John Glenn orbits the Earth three times
John Glenn was one of the original Mercury astronauts and after months of training, launched into space aboard the Mercury capsule Friendship 7. He became the third American in space and the first to orbit Earth. In 5 hours John Glenn circled the Earth three times, reaching speeds of more than 17,000 miles per hour. The purpose of his mission was to be sent to space, observe his reactions and return him safely to earth. -
Scott Carpenter repeats John Glenns flight aboard Aurora 7
Scott Carpenter flew the second American manned orbital flight after John Glenn. He piloted his Aurora 7 spacecraft three times around the Earth. -
NASA selects its second group of astronauts also known as the "New Nine"
NASA's second group of astronauts also known as The New Nine, was the second group of astronauts selected by NASA. The group was required to augment the original Mercury 7 with the announcement of the Gemini program and leading into the Apollo program. The group was made up of Neil Armstrong, Frank Borman, Charles Conrad, James Lovell, James McDivitt, Elliot See, Thomas Stafford, Edward White and John Young. -
Walter Schirra orbits the Earth six times
Mercury Atlas 8 was the third manned orbital flight of the Mercury program which carried Walter M. Schirra, Jr into space. The objectives of the mission where such as: to evaluate the performance of the man-spacecraft system around the Earth six times, evaluate the effects of an extended stay in space on the astronaut and compare to previous missions. The duration of the flight was 9 hours during which Walter Schirra travelled over 230,000 km. -
Mariner 2 flies past Venus
The Mariner 2 Spacecraft was the first spacecraft to encounter another planet and the second of its kind designed for planet exploration, the first being Mariner 1 which failed shortly after launch. The objective Mariner 2 was to fly by Venus and return data on the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, charged particle environment, and mass. Mariner 2 made many new discoveries including: a slow rotation rate for Venus, hot surface temperatures and a predominantly carbon dioxide atmosphere. -
Gordon Cooper spends 34 hours in space
Mercury Atlas 9 also known as Faith 7 was the fourth and final manned orbital flight of the US Mercury program. The pilot of the mision was L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. The objectives of the mission were such as: evaluate the effects on the astronaut of one day in orbital flight, verify man can function for an extended period in space as one of the primary operating systems of the spacecraft. the mission lasted 34 hours orbiting the earth a total of 22 times. -
Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to travel into space aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. She spent almost three days in space and orbited Earth 48 times. The mission was her only trip into space after which she toured the world promoting Soviet science. Her mission was a dual mission alongside Valeriy Bykovsky who launched aboard Vostok 5. the two came within 5km of each other and the two exchanged communications. -
NASA's third group of astronauts is selected
NASA chose its third group of fourteen astronauts: Edwin "Buzz" Eugene Aldrin Jr, William A. Anders, Charles A. Bassett II,Alan L. Bean, Eugene A. Cernan,Roger B. Chaffee, Michael Collins, Walter Cunningham, Donn F. Eisele, Theodore C. Freeman, Richard F. Gordon Jr, Russell L. Schweikart, David R. Scott, and Clifton C. Williams Jr. These men were chosen to be apart of the Apollo space program which was the third and final program to land a man on the Moon. -
President Kennedy is assasinated
President John F Kennedy was assasinated in Dealey Plaza, Texas. he was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald and was pronounced dead at 1:00pm that afternoon. President Kennedys assasinated ment he was never able to see his goal to land America on the moon years later. -
Ranger 7 transmits first close up images of the moon
Ranger 7 was launched on the 28th of July 1964, and was designed to impact the moon and to transmit high-resolution photos of the Moon's surface during the final minutes of flight up until the impact. The first image was taken at an altitude of 2110 km. 4,308 photographs of excellent quality were transmited over the final 17 minutes of flight. -
Alexei Leonov performs the first spacewalk
Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov aboard his Voskhod 2 spacecraft became the first person to step out of a spacecraft and walk in space. The walk almost ended in disaster after his suit expanded due to the difference in pressure and the vaccum in space and was barely able to return inside. He eventually fixed the problem by bleeding some air out. The walk in toal lasted 20 minutes. -
Gus Grissom and John Young fly the first manned Gemini spacecraft
Gemini 3 was the first manned Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini program. It was piloted by astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and John Young. some of its main objectives included demonstrating the crewed capabilities of the Gemini spacecraft and evaluation of the two-man Gemini design, spacecraft sytems and recovery, and the control of reentry path and landing point. -
Ed White perfroms the first American spacewalk
Edward H. White II became the first American to step outside his spacecraft and perform a spacewalk. His walk lasted for 23 minutes while floating and maneuvering himself around his Gemini 4 spacecraft while logging 6,500 miles during his time outside. -
Mariner 4 performs the first flyby of Mars and returns first images
Mariner 4 was the fourth in a series of spacecraft used for planet exploration and was the first to successfully flyby Mars, also returning the first pictures of the martian surface. These were the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space. Mariner 4 was designed for closeup observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Mariner 4 took 7 and a half months to reach Mars. -
USSR launch Venus 3
The mission of Venus 3 also known as Venera 3 was to land on Venus' surface. The craft contained a radio communication system and scientific instruments. Venus 3 impacted Venus on March 1, 1966, making Venus 3 the first spacecraft to impact the surface of another planet. However, the communications systems on board had failed before any data could be returned. -
Frank Borman and James Lovell begin a two week stay in Earth orbit aboard Gemini 7
Frank Borman and James Lovell launched aboard Gemini 7 on their 14 day mission which was the fourth crewed spacecraft of the Gemini series. The main priorities of the mission were to demonstrate a 2 week flight in Earth orbit, to perform stationkeeping with the second stage launch vehicle, to act as a rendezvous target for Gemini 6, and to perform controlled reentry close to the landing point. -
Gemini 6 makes the first space rendezvous with Gemini 7
The first space rendezvous was achieved by Gemini 6 and 7, where the two met and performed rendezvous manuevers, maintaining a distance of approximately 9 feet. -
Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon
Luna 9 launched on the 31st of January 1966 and was the first spacecraft to soft land on the Moons surface and to transmit photo's from the Moon's surface back to Earth. The probe also proved to scientists that the Moon's surface could support the weight of a lander and would not sink into a loose layer of dust as some had predicted. -
Gemini astronauts Charles Bassett and Elliot See die in a plane crash
Ahead the launch of Gemini 9, Chalie Basset and Elliot See, the prime crew for Gemini 9 were coming into land in St Louis infront of the backup crew, Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan when bad conditions caused See to crash and kill himself along with Basset. This crash resulted in Stafford and Cernan flying Gemini 9, flying to the moon aboard Apollo 10 and lead to Gene Cernan being th elast man to walk on the moon. -
Luna 10 becomes the first sattelite to orbit the moon
Luna 10 was the first spacecraft to orbit around the Moon, and the first man made object to orbit another body beyond the Earth. Luna 10's primary objectives were to achieve the first lunar orbit, gain experience in orbital operations presumably for manned missions, and to study the lunar environment. The launch was timed so that Luna 10 would achieve its first orbit just as the Twenty-third Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was gathering for it's morning session. -
Surveyor 1 soft lands on the moon
Surveyor 1 was lauched on the 30th of may 1966 and was the first spacecraft launched in the Surveyor program and the first to soft land on the Moon by the US. Its primary goal along with the other Surveyor missions, was to gain knowledge and data for the upcoming Apollo missions. Surveyor 1's first hour on the Moon was spent performing tests. Photographs were then taken throughout the remainder of the day and on the next day, after surviving the lunar night. A total of 11,240 photos were taken. -
Lunar Orbiter 1 takes first photograph of the earth from the distance of the moon
Lunar Orbiter 1 launched on the 10th of august 1966 and was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the Moon's surface so that safe landing sites could be selected and verified for future Surveyor and Apollo missions and to also perform other scientific data. Lunar Orbiter 1 captured a number of photos but also took the first two pictures ever taken of Earth from such a distance. -
USA launch Gemini 12
Gemini 12 carried Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell on the final flight of the Gemini series, which bridged the Mercury and Apollo programs. 14 scientific, medical, and technological experiments were to be carried out during the the 4 day and 22 hour flight. one of the missions main priorities was also to demonstrate an automatic reentry and to perform a rendezvous. -
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee are killed in the Apollo 1 accident
During a launch pad test of Apollo 1 to prepare for the first pioleted flight, tradgedy struck whe na fire broke out in the command modual where astronauts Gus Grissom, an experienced astronaut of Mercury and Gemini missions, Ed White, who performed the first United States spacewalk during the Gemini program; and Roger Chaffee, an astronaut preparing for his first space flight, where seated and died in the accident. The accident prompted many modifications and changes to be made. -
Venera 4 transmits data about the atmosphere of Venus
Venera 4 launched on the 12th of June 1967 and was designed with the objective to study the atmosphere of Venus down to the surface and was the first probe to transmit data from the atmosphere of another planet back to Earth. -
Yuri Gagarin, the first man is space dies in a plane crash
Yuri Gagarin made history on April 12, 1961 when he became the first man in space. He died just shy of the mission's seventh anniversary, when the MiG-15 fighter jet that he and his instructor Vladimir Seryogin were piloting on a training flight went down near Moscow. -
The crew of Apollo 7 begin a 10 day mission to study the new spacecraft
Apollo 7 was the first manned test of the Command and Service Module which carried Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham around the Earth 163 times or 10 days and 20 hours in space. Apollo 7 spent more time in space than all the Soviet missions combined up to this point and featured the first live TV from a manned spacecraft. -
Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders begin the first manned journey from Earth to the Moon
Apollo 8 was the first mission to take humans to the Moon and back, an important step in actually landing on the Moon. The flight tested flight trajectory and operations for getting there and back and acheived many firsts including the first manned mission launched on the Saturn V rocket, first pictures taken of the Earth from deep space, and the first live TV footage of the Moon's surface. -
Soyuz 4 and 5 perform the first Soviet space docking
Soyuz 4 and 5 met in space and docked together and formed what wasdubbed the world's first space station with a total crew of four aboard. They remained conneted for four and a half hours which added up to three orbits of the Earth. During which two of the cosmonauts 'space walked' from Soyuz 4 to Soyuz 5 becoming the first men to return to Earth in a different spacecraft fro mthe one they came up in. -
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon
Apollo 11 launched on july 16th 1969 and it's main objective and purpose was to complete President John F. Kennedy's goal of landing Americans on the moons and return to Earth safely. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on a body other than the Earth and Buzz Aldrin the second. Other goals of the mission included exploring the lunar service and photographing it extensivly and to bring samples back to Earth. -
Pete Conrad and Alan Bean perform the first precision lunar landing
Apollo 12 was the second manned mission to land on the Moon carrying Alan Beam and Pete Conrad. The mission was planned and executed as the first precision landing on the moon. The astronauts landed Apollo 12 within walking distance of the Surveyor III spacecraft which landed on the Moon in April, 1967. The astronauts brought some of Surveyor's instruments back to Earth to examine the effects of long-term exposure on the Moon's surface. -
USSR launch Luna 16
Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon, collect, and return a sample to Earth. The mission followed the Apollo 11 and 12 missions making it the third overall to collect a sample but also the first for the Soviets. -
Luna 17 lands on the moon with Lunokhod 1
Luna 17 launched on the 10th of November 1970 and soft landed on the moon with the first robot, Lunokhod 1, which decended on to the surface via ramps and explored the surface for a total of 11 days during which it had traveled 10,540 m and transmitted more than 20,000 photos and more than 200 panoramas back to Earth. It had also conducted more than 500 soil tests. -
Venera 7 becomes the first probe to soft-land on Venus
Venera 7 launched on the 17th of August. The objectives of the mission was to return data from Venus' atmosphere, land on the surface, and continue returning data after landing. Venera 7 was the first spacecraft to return data after landing on another planet. The probe returned some data but is thought to have bounced on impact and landed on it's side. -
USA launch Apollo 14
Apollo 14 carried Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell to the moon making it the third succesful landing on the moon by the US. although the objectives were the same as Apollo 13, stoarge was made for much higher quantites of samples and data. This allowed an increase in the range that could be explored and the amount of samples that could be bought back to Earth. -
USSR launch the Salyut 1 space station
Although Salyut 1 hosted many problems, it was an important step and made important progress into the goal of living and working or long periods in space and has helped pave the way for future space stations. The station orbited the Earth just under 3,000 times during the 175 days it was in space before being intentionally deorbited. -
USA launch Mariener 9
The Mariner Mars 71 mission consisted of Mariner 8 and 9 and the objective was for both to orbit the atmosphere of Mars however due to failure of Mariner 8, Mariner 9 took on both it's task of studying the martian atmosphere and surface and Mariner 8's task of mapping 70% of the surface. Mariner 9 also became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. -
Apollo 15 astronauts drive the first moon rover
Apollo 15 was the fourth mission to land men on the Moon and was the first time astronauts used a Moon rover to explore the landscape of the Moon. The Moon rover allowed Apollo 15, 16 and 17 astronauts to explore much further from their lander than in previous missions. Moon exploration increased from hundreds of meters in earlier landings to tens of kilometers during Apollo 15 and 16 and just over 100 kilometers during Apollo 17. -
USA launch Pioneer 10
The Pioneer 10 spacecraft was the first to fly beyong Mars' orbitand through the asteroid belt and close to Jupiter. During the flight to jupiter and during its time around jupiter, Pioneer 10 transmitted data and hundreds of photos of Jupiter and it's moons. Until Voyager 1, Pioneer 10 was the most distant man made object in space. -
USA launch Pioneer 11
Pioneer 11 was the first spacecraft to explore Saturn and the second spacecraft to explore the outer solar system. The spacecraft carried many scientific instuments on board to study Jupiet and Saturn including their moons and atmospheres. It now travels towards the center of the galaxy as with Pioneer 10. -
USA launch Skylab workshop
Skylab was the first space station of the United States and spent a total of six years orbiting Earth until it re entered the Earths atmosphere and broke apart. Lots of it's debris can be found in some parts of Western Australia. Three crews in total successfully lived on board skylab for several months each. The last crew spent 84 days aboard in orbit. -
USA launch Mariner 10
The Mariner 10 spacecraft was the seventh successful launch in the Mariner series and the first spacecraft to visit Mercury and also the first spacecraft mission to visit two planets, that being both Venus and Mercury. Mariner 10 returned the first close up photos of Venus and Mercury and returned data on charecteristics, atmosphere and environment of the two planets. -
NASA launch the first synchronous Meteroligcal satellite
The SMS satellite was the first operational satellite to sense meteorological conditions on Earth from a fixed location. The satellite provided day and night imagery of cloud conditions and had the capability to monitor extreme weather such as typhoons or hurricanes. -
USSR launch Salyut 3
salyut 3 was a Soviet military space station in the Almaz program. It was hidden in with the Salyut program so its true military nature would not be revealed. Only one crew spent time on the station who came on the Soyuz-14 spacecraft who spent 15 days onboard the station in July 1974. Salyut 3 was deorbited in 1975. -
American Apollo 18 and Soviet Soyuz 19 dock
The Apollo-Soyuz test project was the first time two different nations met up in space and docked with each other and effectivly marked the end of the space race between the USSR and the USA which started in 1957. Their was a combined crew of five people, three Americans and two Soviets who spent two days in orbit working on experiments and conducting press conferences before returning to Earth
