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Space Race Timeline
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Sputnik
October 4, 1957. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite. It was launched by the Soviet Union. It circled the globe beeping radio signals. This event started the space race between the United States and Russia. -
First Animal In Space
Laika was the first animal into space. It was launched by the Soviet Union. She lived for seven days proving that animals and possibly humans could survive in space. There was no way of bringing her back, so she had to be put to sleep. :( -
First Man In Space
Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. He was riding on the Soviet Vostok 1. During re-entry the Vostok 1 shook wildly and once he was low enouh he ejected and used a parachute. -
First Human In Space
Alan Shepard was the first human United States sent into space. Three weeks later, J.F.K vows to send more men to the moon and back before the end of the decade. -
First Death In Space
During a test on the launch pad, a fire kills the members of the Apollo 1 astronauts. Then a few months later the Soviet craft Soyuz 2 crashed. Vladimir Komarov was the first cosmonaut to die. -
First Man To Walk On The Moon
During the flight of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin was the second. Neil Armstrong has the famous quote, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” -
First Space Rescue
The first space rescue was the members of Apollo 13. They had to rescue them after the oxygen tank exploded. They barely made it back in an intense, dramatic story. -
First Space Station
The first space station was launched by the Soviets. It was called Salyut 1. Its original crew died during re-entry. -
First Mars Landing
Viking 1 was the first thing that landed on mars. It was an unmanned scientific probe controlled by scientist. It transmited pictures of the surface of mars. -
First Woman In Space
Sally Ride was part of the crew for the seventh space shuttle flight. She was the first woman in space. -
First Woman To Do A Spacewalk
Savitskaya became the first woman to do a space walk. Her and her partner conducted welding experiments for over three hours outside there Soviet space station. -
First Civilian Death
The space shuttle Challenger exploded killing all seven crew members. It also included the death of the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe. This was a very tragic event that happened. -
First Year In Space
Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov complete 366 days on ther Russian space station. The record was broke by Valery Poyakov. -
First Space Telescope
The crew of space shuttle mission STS-31 put the Hubble Space Telescope. Soon afterwards the telescope’s mirror was damaged. Then another space shuttle went up and corrected the problem. Then the telescope provided the first images of distant galaxies. -
First Spacecraft To Leave The Solar System
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to leave the solar system. It reached a distance 50 times farther from the sun than earth. Currently it is 6.5 billion miles away, heading toward the constellation Taurus. -
The First International Space Station
The international space station program began with the flight of Russia on an Sergei Krialev on an American space shuttle. Dr. Norm Thagard became the first American to stay on Russian space station. -
First American To Spend A Month In Space
Shannon Lucid was the first American to spend six months in space. After five shuttle flights and six months on the Russsian space station, her total time in space is 233 days. -
First Surface Traveler On Another Planet
The robot Sojourner was the first surface travel on another planet. It explored the surface of mars. The six wheeled remote-controlled, solar powered rover sended images of the planet’s surface. -
China's First Human Sent To Space
Yang Livei was the first Chinese man to go into space. China, Russia, and the United States were the only countries to send people into space. He remained in space for 21 hours. -
First Spacecraft To Orbit Saturn
Cassini-Huygwens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around Saturn. It flew within 800 miles of Saturn’s largest moon.
