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Dog Laika
a dog that was the first living creature to be launched into Earth orbit, on board the Soviet artificial satellite Sputnik 2, on November 3, 1957 -
Sputnik I
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 -
Explorer
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States in 1958 and was part of the U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year. The mission followed the first two satellites the previous year; the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, beginning the Cold War Space Race between the two nations. -
President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 into law on July 29
Congress passed the final version of the bill, the National Aeronautics and Space Act, on July 16 and President Eisenhower signed it into law on July 29, 1958. The bill established eight objectives for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration -
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful crewed spaceflight, became the first human to journey into outer space. Travelling on Vostok 1, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961, with his flight taking 108 minutes. -
Kennedy
proposed that the US "should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. -
Chimp
After his flight, Ham lived for 20 years by himself, in a zoo in Washington DC. People wrote him letters, and some were answered by zoo staff signed with Ham's fingerprint. In 1980 he was sent to another zoo to live with a group of chimps. -
pilot Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47. -
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. -
Gemini VI-A with Gemini VII
Gemini VI-A was launched on December 15, 1965, eleven days after Gemini VII, which acted as the rendezvous target. Three orbits after its launch, Gemini VI-A approached to within 6 inches of Gemini VII, the first rendezvous in space history. The Gemini VI-A flight lasted 26 hours and 16 orbits. -
Ed White
Edward Higgins White II was an American aeronautical engineer, United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He was a member of the crews of Gemini 4 and Apollo 1. -
cosmonaut Alexei Leonov
Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first person to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for 12 minutes and 9 seconds. -
Gemini VIII with Agena
Both vehicles plunged into the Atlantic Ocean 107 nautical miles (198 km) downrange. The Agena's engine did not activate since the proper altitude and velocity had not been attained, preventing the guidance system from sending the start command. -
Gemini X
Gemini 10 was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 8th crewed Gemini flight, the 16th crewed American flight, and the 24th spaceflight of all time. -
Apollo I Fire
The mission never flew; a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station. -
Apollo 2 Moon
Apollo achieved the first crewed lunar landing on the Apollo 11 mission, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their LM Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility -
Apollo 13 Electric System
The committee concluded that damaged insulation around electrical components in the Command and Service Module's (CSM) second oxygen tank caused an electrical short that led to the explosion. The short ignited the oxygen and insulation material.