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1608 Telescope was invented by Hans Lippershey
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1813
First Exposition of Rocket Mechanics
The British mathematician William Moore publishes Treatise on the Motion of Rockets. This work features the first exposition of rocket mechanics based on Newton's third law of motion. -
Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi
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October 3, 1942
First Suborbital Flight
After two previous failures, Germany successfully launches their V-2 rocket. It is the first man-made object to achieve sub-orbital spaceflight, reaching an altitude of 100 km (62 miles). The V-2 is the progenitor of all modern rockets including the U.S. Apollo program's Saturn V moon rocket. -
September 27, 1956 -- First flight to exceed three times the speed of sound (Mach 3); Milburn (Mel) G. Apt reached Mach 3.2 in Bell X-2; subsequent loss of control resulted in crash of airplane and death of the pilot. (USA)
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January 31, 1958
First American Satellite
America launched its first satellite. Weighing only 30 pounds, Explorer 1 was launched into orbit by the Army on a Jupiter-C rocket. The satellite contained several scientific instruments. This mission discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth. -
October 4, 1959
First View of Moon's Far Side
The Russian satellite Luna 3 is launched, orbiting the Moon and photographing 70 percent of the Moon's far side. -
The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.
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Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test for Apollo 204 (AS-204). The mission was to be the first crewed flight of Apollo, and was scheduled to launch Feb. 21, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the command module, or CM.
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APOLLO 13 - April 13, 1970
Four-fifths of the way to the moon, Apollo 13 is crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen bursts. The three astronauts on board survive by moving into the lunar module until they are able to fly the main vessel safely back to earth. -
1981 April 12 - Columbia became the first Space Shuttle to be launched.
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1995 February 2 - Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle pilot.
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2011 July 16 - NASA's Dawn spacecraft became the first man made craft to orbit an asteroid.
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2013 December 24 - NASA astronauts wrapped up successful repairs at the International Space Station after a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk to fix an equipment cooling system.
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James Webb Space Telescope 'Wings' Successfully Deployed
November 16, 2015
Engineers successfully completed two deployments for the James Webb Space Telescope's "wings" or side portions of the backplane structure that fold up.
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