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Sputnik 1 is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until January 4, 1958. Citation Link: The First Man-Made Object to Orbit Earth
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Discoveries in Space
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Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite in orbit, lifts off at Cape Canaveral using a modified ABMA-JPL Jupiter-C rocket. It carries a scientific experiment of James A. Van Allen, and discovers the Earth's radiation belt. Citation Link:
Discovery of the Earth's Radiation Belt -
Luna 1 Launch
Luna 1 is the first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R. Citation Links:
First Man-Made Satellite to Orbit the Moon
YouTube Video -
April 1, 1960 - Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the U.S. Citation Link:
The First Successful Weather Satellite -
Vostok 1 is launched by the U.S.S.R., carrying Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gargarin, the first man in space. He orbits the Earth once. Citation Link:
First Man in Space -
Vostok 6 carries Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space and orbits the Earth 48 times. Citation Links:
First Woman in Space -
U.S. Ranger 7 relays the first close-range photographs of the Moon. Citation Link:
First Close-Range Photograph of the Moon -
The first space walk is made from Soviet Voskhod 2 by Cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov. Duration is 12 minutes. Ciation Links:
The First Space Walk
YouTube of the First Space Walk -
Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon. Citation Link:
First Spacecraft to soft-land on the moon -
On April 24 it crashed, killing Komarov, the first spaceflight fatality. Citation Link:
Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched -
Venera 13 lands on Venus, and provides the first Venusian soil analysis. Citation Links:
Venera 13 lands on Venus
Space Exploration Information
