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Sputnik 1
The Soviets launched the Sputnik 1 into to space in hopes of it entering Earth's orbit.
Link Used: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_924.html -
Explorer 1
They launched it to carry science instruments. It stopped transmitting on May 23, 1958 when its batteries died. It continued to orbit Earth for a dozen years after that.
Link Used: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer.html -
Luna 1
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the moon. It was owned by the Soviet Union.
Link Used: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-012A -
Ham The Astrochimp
Ham was a chimpanzee and was the first hominid launched into space. -
Yuri Gagarin's Orbit of Earth
Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet pilot cosmonaut. He was the first human to travel into outer space when he orbited Earth in the spacecraft named Vostok.
Link Used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin -
Alan Shepard's Space Voyage
Alan Shepard holds the honor of being the first American to go to Outer Space. He traveled in the rocket know as Freedom 7.
Link Used: https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/shepard-alan.html -
John Glenn's Orbit of Earth
John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. He orbited it a total of 3 times, having to control the Friendship 7 spacecraft manually during the 2nd and 3rd orbits, as well as during re-entry because of a malfunction within the automatic control system. He also had to worry about the heat shield being loose during re-entry. Link Used: https://www.nasa.gov/content/profile-of-john-glenn -
Gemini 7
Gemini 7 is the 4th space craft in the Gemini Series to orbit Earth that had people in it. Its main goals were to demonstrate a 2 week flight and to perform station keeping.
Link Used: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1965-100A -
Gemini 6A
Gemini 6A was launched after Gemini 7, with the intention of making rendezvous with it.
Link Used: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1965-104A -
Apollo 1
Apollo 1 was the first manned mission of the United States Apollo Program, with its goal being a manned lunar landing.
Link Used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1 -
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was the second human spaceflight mission in the USA. It became the first crewed space craft to leave Earth's orbit, reach the Moon, and safely return.
Link Used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8 -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the spacecraft that landed the first 2 humans on the moon. Those humans were pilot Buzz Aldrin and Mission Commander Neil Armstrong.
Link Used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
