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Period: to
1609-1957
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the moon
The first spotting of the moon through a telescope by Galileo Galilei -
Rocketry
Robert H. Goddard launches first liquid fueled rockets -
V2 rocket
First research flight launched by the U.S. captured by the V-2 space rocket -
Into space
First animals launched into space (fruit flies) by the U.S. -
Russians
First artificial satellite put into space that brings back signals to earth launched by the USSR -
Period: to
1958-1980
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Explorer
Launch of Explorer 1 -
To the Moon
Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon. -
Seeing the moon
U.S. Ranger 7 relays the first close-range photographs of the Moon. -
walking in space
The first space walk is made from Soviet Voskhod 2 by Cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov. Duration is 12 minutes. -
first death
Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched, carrying Vladimir M. Komarov. On April 24 it crashed, killing Komarov, the first spaceflight fatality. -
on the moon
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the Moon, and the first moonwalk, using Apollo 11. -
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 is launched, suffering an explosion in its SM oxygen tanks. Its Moon landing is aborted, and the crew, James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr. and Fred W. Haise, Jr., return safely. -
Period: to
1980-present day
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first space shuttle
Columbia became the first Space Shuttle to be launched. -
first woman in space
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on Challenger’s second mission. -
first african american in space
Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space. -
space walk
Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first man to take an untethered space walk.