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First Sattelite To Orbit Earth
The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite. Called Sputnik, a combination of words meaning "fellow-traveler of Earth. -
First Animal In Space
The Soviet Union launches a female dog into space on Sputnik II. Her name is Laika, which means "barker" in Russian. -
First Human In Space
Riding on the Soviet Vostok 1, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space. -
First American To Orbit Earth
John Glenn circles Earth three times in 4 hours and 56 minutes. In 1998, at age seventy-seven, John Glenn becomes the oldest person to fly in space, as part of the STS-95 space shuttle crew. -
First Woman In Space
The Soviets launch Valentina Tereshkova on Vostok 6. She spends three days alone in space. Her spacecraft comes within three miles of Valeri Bykovsky in Vostok 5. -
First Space Walk
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov takes the first space walk, a ten-minute tethered excursion outside Voshkod 2. -
Ffirst Death In Space
During a test on the launchpad, a fire kills Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. -
First Moon Landing
During the flight of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin is the second. -
First Space Rescue
An oxygen tank explodes aboard Apollo 13. With help from Mission Control, the crew — Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert — return to Earth safely four days later. -
First Space Station
The Soviets launch Salyut 1, the first orbiting space station. Salyut 1's original crew die during re-entry on June 30, 1971. Georgi Bobroeolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Victor Patsayev had spent a record 23 days in space. -
First American Space Station
The first American space station, Skylab, is damaged during the launch. Eleven days later, first of the three crews arrive for a 28 day stay. -
First Mars landing
Viking 1 transmits the first pictures from the surface of Mars. Viking 2 arrived in September 1976. -
First American Woman in Space
Sally Ride is the first American woman in space. She is part of the crew of the seventh space shuttle flight, STS-7. -
First Civilian Death
Space shuttle, Challenger, explodes killing all seven crew members. Including the first teacher in space. -
First year in Space
Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov complete 366 days on the Russian space station. The record is broken on March 22nd, 1995. -
First Space Telescope
The crew of space shuttle mission STS-31 deploy the Hubble Space Telescope. Soon thereafter, the Hubble's primary mirror is found to be damaged. -
First American to spend Six Months in Space
Shannon Lucid sets a record in space for both a woman and an American. Her total time in space is 223 days. -
First Surface Travel on another Planet
The robot Sojourner explores the surface of Mars. The six-wheeled, remote-controlled, solar-powered rover sends images of the planet’s surface and the soil. -
First Non-astronaut to Enter Space
A billionaire named Dennis Tito, became the first paying passenger to enter outer space. Mr. Tito, age 60, payed 20 million dollars to fufill his dream of entering outer space. -
First Spacecraft to Orbit Saturn
Cassini-Huygens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around Saturn. After, the spacecraft flew within 800 miles of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
