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Period: to
Space
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Prox Centauri Discovered
Discovery of Prox Centauri the nearest star to the earth (execpt the sun) -
International Astronomical Union founded.
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United States launches Explorer I from Cape Canaveral in Florida
It was the first United States satelight. -
NASA is formed after Congress passes the National Aeronautics and Space Act.
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Neil Armstrong.
X-15, 1960 The X-15 made 199 flights to the edge of space between 1959 and 1968. Among its pilots was a young Neil Armstrong. -
First tv pic from space
The first weather satellite, TIROS 1, was equipped with television cameras that photographed Earth’s cloud cover — the first in a long line of orbiting atmospheric monitors. -
The launch of Freedom 7
With the launch of Freedom 7, Alan Shepard becomes the first American man in space. The suborbital flight, which was part of the Mercury Project, lasted 15 minutes, 28 seconds. -
The goal of sending astronauts to the moon
U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces the goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. -
Mercury Project
Launch of Friendship 7 (also part of the Mercury Project) makes astronaut John Glenn the first American to go into orbit. Total flight time was just shy of five hours. -
Glenn in orbit
Ten months after Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn orbited Earth — and returned a national hero. m -
The first american space walk
First photographs of a person floating in space taken by another person in space. -
Navy League
The Navy League of the United States has offered defense contractors and suppliers an unparalleled marketing opportunity for developing business relationships with the U.S. maritime services. -
First close up
The first close-ups of the Martian surface, taken by the passing Mariner 4 spacecraft, were a disappointment to those hoping to see signs of life. The photos showed a dead, cratered surface. -
Saturn launch
Saturn 1 Launch, 1965 The Saturn rocket team included many German émigrés, most of them at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Among those watching a launch at Cape Canaveral on May 25, 1965, are Kurt Debus (pointing, center), Wernher von Braun (to his left), and Eberhard Rees (leaning). -
Apollo missions
Launch of Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad on an eight-day mission to test rendezvous guidance and navigation systems, as well as study how humans could handle long-term exposure to a space environment. Gemini would be the critical link between the early Mercury Project and the Apollo missions -
Mission AS-204
Mission AS-204 is struck by tragedy when a flash fire breaks out during a launch pad test, killing three astronauts: Virgil Grissom, who had participated in Mercury and Gemini flights; Edward White, who conducted NASA's first extravehicular activity; and new astronaut Roger Chaffee. The mission, one of NASA's first major setbacks, was later renamed Apollo 1. -
First test flight of the Saturn V rocket,
a littler rocket with few men on it 13 saturn Vs where launched from kennedy space center florida -
First step on the Moon,
An estimated half billion people experienced it this way: in black-and-white, on television. -
Launch of Apollo 11
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Astronauts Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong become the first men to walk on the moon.
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Original Seven
Mercury Astronauts The “Original Seven,” as they came to be known, were all male, and all military test pilots. Only one — Alan Shepard (back row, far left), the first American in space — made it to the moon, on Apollo 14. -
Pioneer 10
Launch of unmanned Pioneer 10: Earth's first space probe to an outer planet, the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt, the first spacecraft to make direct observations and obtain close-up images of Jupiter, and the first man-made object to leave the solar system. Pioneer 10 sent its last communication back to Earth on January 22, 2003, while 7.6 billion miles from home -
United States launches its first experimental space station, the Skylab.
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Apollo-Soyuz
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project is the first international manned space flight to test out cooperated space rescue and docking. -
Launch of Viking 1
The first orbiter and lander sent to Mars. Viking 2 would launch a few weeks later. Both landed safely on Mars and for six years sent back the first set of images and data from the Martian surface. -
Viking
Viking 1 made the first landing on Mars. The robot spacecraft’s first picture was of its own footpad, just minutes after touchdown. -
Launch of Voyager 2,
One of a pair of spacecraft sent by NASA on what was supposed to be a five-year mission to study Jupiter and Saturn. Voyagers 1 and 2 continue to send back pictures and data today, 30 years later from nearly 10 billion miles away. -
Launch of Voyager 1
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Launch of the first of two spacecraft called Pioneer Venus, which would study the Venusian atmosphere.
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Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
The Great Red Spot, an ancient storm so large that three Earths could fit inside it, had been photographed from Earth before, but never in such detail. -
Shuttle program.
Aboard the space shuttle Columbia, Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young make the first mission in NASA's space shuttle program. -
First Black Man In Space
Guy Bluford. the first African-American in space, was also on the record-setting, eight-person crew of STS 61-A two years later -
Sally Ride
First American woman in space with launch of shuttle mission STS-7 aboard the space shuttle Challenger. -
STS-8
Guion S. Bluford, Jr., becomes first black man in space with launch of shuttle mission STS-8 aboard the space shuttle Challenger. -
First major catastrophe
First major catastrophe for NASA, when space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51L) explodes 73 seconds after takeoff with seven crewmembers aboard -
Challanger Exaust Trail
The destruction of the space shuttle Challenger 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986. An image that is instantly recognizable to millions who saw the event played over and over again on television. -
Atlantis launches
Space shuttle Atlantis launches Galileo to study Jupiter and its moons. It took Galileo six years to reach Jupiter, and it finally disintegrated in Jupiter's atmosphere in September of 2003, 14 years after it began its collision course toward the giant planet. -
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev becomes the first Russian to fly aboard a U.S. space shuttle.
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Comet Shoe Maker
The largest impact event ever recorded. After scientists predicted that Comet Shoemaker-Levy would break up and collide with Jupiter, all eyes — including the Hubble Space Telescope — turned to watch the impacts, which appeared as dark spots in the Hubble images. -
Pillars of Creation
The most celebrated image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. -
Launch of Mars Pathfinder
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Days of pathfinder
Pathfinder lands on Mars. The rover Sojourner would go on to explore the Martian surface for more than 80 days. -
First piece of the International Space Station is launched.
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Expedition One,
The crew of Expedition One, astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, dock at the International Space Station. They are the first people to take up residence at the ISS, staying there for several months. -
Launch of Genesis,
Launch of Genesis, which would collect samples of atoms from solar wind. Genesis would be the first attempt to return samples to Earth since the Apollo moon mission in 1972. -
Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity launch.
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Spirit and Opportunity arrive on the Martian surface.
They continue to explore the Red Planet today. -
Capturing particles from the sun
After capturing particles from the sun, Genesis makes a dramatic crash landing in Utah when its parachute fails to deploy. Despite the landing, scientists still managed to recover and study the samples. -
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately built craft to reach outer space.
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately built craft to reach outer space. -
Phoenix lander launches on its way to explore the northern pole of Mars.
Phoenix lander launches on its way to explore the northern pole of Mars. -
Sojourner Rover
The Sojourner rover as seen from the Mars Pathfinder lander. reated expressly to present a high-quality panoramic image to the U.S. President (Bill Clinton), the picture was stitched together from multiple photographs.
