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Robert Goddard begins practical rocketry.
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Hubble shows galaxies exist outside of the Milky Way.
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Robert Goddard uses first liquid rocket fuel
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Karl Jansky discovers cosmic radio waves
Karl Jansky discovers cosmic radio waves. -
First Launch
U.S. launches Explorer 1 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. -
NASA Forms
NASA is formed after Congress passes the National Aeronautics and Space Act. -
Tiros 1 launched
Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the United States. -
First American in Space
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, and 28 seconds. -
Kennedy Announcement
United States President John F. Kennedy announces the goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. -
Launch of Friendship 7
Launch of Friendship 7 makes astronaut John Glenn the first American to go into orbit. Total flight time was just shy of five hours. -
Ranger 7
U.S. Ranger 7 Relays the first close-range photographs of the Moon -
Launch of Gemini 5
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 11. -
Test flight of Saturn V
First test flight of the Saturn V rocket, which would carry dozens of spacecraft into space in the years to come. -
Launch of Apollo 11
Launch of Apollo 11. -
First Moonwalk
Astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong become the first men to walk on the moon. -
Mariner 9 orbits Mars
American Mariner 9 (launched May 30, 1971) is the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, Mars. Over the next year, it maps 100 percent of the Martian surface. -
Launch of Unmanned 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 objects 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. -
Pioneer 11 finds rings on Saturn
Pioneer 11 is launched on an Atlas/Centaur/TE364-4, flying past Jupiter in 1974, and Saturn in 1979, where it discovers new rings. -
First Experimental Space Station
United States launches its first experimental space station, the Skylab. -
First International manned space flight
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project is the first international manned space flight to test out cooperated space rescue and docking. -
Launch of Viking 1
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. -
Launch of Voyager 2
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
Launch of Voyager 1 -
Launch of the first of two spacecraft called Pioneer Venus
Launch of the first of two spacecraft called Pioneer Venus, which would study the Venusian atmosphere. -
U.S. Voyager 1 sends back images
U.S. Voyager 1 sends back first images of Saturn and its rings to Earth. -
First mission in NASA's space 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 Woman in Space
Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space with launch of shuttle mission STS-7 aboard the space shuttle Challenger. -
First Black Man in Space
Guion S. Bluford, Jr., becomes first black man in space with launch of shuttle mission STS-8 aboard the space shuttle Challenger. -
U.S. Voyager 2 closes in on Uranus.
U.S. Voyager 2 closes in on Uranus. -
First Catastrophe for NASA
FIrst major catastrophe for NASA, when space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51L) explodes 73 seconds after takeoff with seven crewmembers aboard. -
Mir space station launches
Mir space station launches. -
Atlantis launches Galileo
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. -
First Russian to fly aboard a U.S. space shuttle.
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev becomes the first Russian to fly aboard a U.S. space shuttle. -
Launch of Mars Pathfinder
Launch of Mars Pathfinder -
Pathfinder lands on Mars
Pathfinder lands on Mars. The rover Sojourner would go on to explore the Martian surface for more than 80 days. -
First piece of the ISS is launched
First piece of the International Space Station is launched. -
New evidence found for water on Mars.
New evidence found for water on Mars. -
The crew of Expedition One docks at the ISS
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. -
MAP Project
NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is launched on a trajectory for a gravity boost past the moon to a position 1.5 million km outside Earth's orbit. From that position it is to measure cosmic background radiation from the dark extragalactic sky. -
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. -
Deep Space 1
Deep Space 1 successfully completes its flyby of comet 19P/Borrelly -
Endeavour launched carrying a module back to the ISS with supplies
Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched carrying the Raffaello logistics module back to the ISS with new supplies. -
Crew of seven astronauts is lost after a 16-day mission
Crew of seven astronauts, including the first Israeli astronaut, is lost after a 16-day mission when the Columbia space shuttle explodes on re-entry. The accident was later attributed to damage sustained to foam insulation and has led NASA to understand how to safely repair similar damage on later missions. -
Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is launched
Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is launched. -
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is launched
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is launched. -
Spirit and Opportunity arrive on the Martian surface.
Spirit and Opportunity arrive on the Martian surface. They continue to explore the Red Planet today. -
Genesis Crash Landing
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. -
First privately built craft to reach outer space.
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately built craft to reach outer space. -
Phoenix lander launches
Phoenix lander launches on its way to explore the northern pole of Mars.