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First Artifical Satellite in Space
On this day, Sputnik I became the first artificial satellite to successfully enter space. It was launched by the Soviet Union and was about the size of a beach ball, weighing in at about 180 pounds. On the satellite's elliptical path, it took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth. The launch of Sputnik I had a huge impact on history, being noted as the dawn of the Space Age and the start of the space race between the USSR and the USA. -
First Animal to enter Orbit
On this day, the Soviet Union's Sputnik II was launched into space with a dog name Laika inside. Sputnik II successfully reached the Earth's orbit thus making Laika the first animal to ever enter orbit. It was revealed that due to time constraints, the Soviet's never actually devised a plan to get Laika back to Earth and she was expected to die in space. Although it is unclear as to when Laika actually died, it is widely believed that she made it into space and lived through several orbits. -
First Human in Space
On April 12, 1961 the USSR successfully launched the first human being into space. Yuri Gagarin, a soviet pilot, orbited the earth for one orbit, which lasted 108 minutes. Because there was not soft landing technology at that time, he parachuted out of the module as it returned to earth and safely landed in a farmer’s field. This provided a strong incentive for the United States to increase its efforts in space exploration. -
First Woman in Space
Valentina Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937 in the Yaroslavl Region of Russia. Her interest in flying started at an early age with parachute jumping and it was this skill that lead to her selection as a cosmonaut. Valentina was one of four women selected for a women in space training program. On June 16, 1963 Valentina launched on the Vostok 6. The trip lasted 70.8 hours and they orbited Earth 48 times. Upon return Valentina was awarded a title: "Hero of the Soviet Union". -
First Person to Space Walk
Alexei Leonov was the first man to "walk" in space on March 18, 1965. He was one of two Russians on the Voskhod 2 mission. He exited the spacecraft for 12 minutes and 9 seconds, and went 5.35 meters on his tether. Upon reentry he ran into some issues with his suit and had to release some air. On their return to Earth they missed their target and landed in the Ural mountains in heavy forest. They slept there over night before being discovered. -
First Television broadcast from Space
The "Walt, Wally, and Donn" show, or the first television broadcast from space occurred on October 11, 1968. The three astronauts were: Walter Schirra Jr, R. Walter Cunningham, and Donn F. Eisele. It was an Apollo 7(23) mission, that lasted 10 days and 20 minutes with 163 orbits. A special camera was used to broadcast, and the show won an Emmy. There were a number of issues on the trip, and the crew used humor to talk about them. -
First Man on the Moon
On this day, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Apollo 11, the spacecraft that would take Armstrong, along with Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off on July, 16th 1969 and landed four days later. Six hours after landing, on July 21st, Armstrong took man's first steps onto the lunar surface. This is also when Armstrong said the famous quote, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong and Aldrin walked around the moon for about three hours. -
First Rover to Land on any Celestial Body
On this day, the Lunokhod 1 became the first rover to land on any celestial body. Although the USA had beat the Soviet Union in putting a person on the moon, the Soviet Union promptly responded by putting the first remote controlled rover on the moon after it was carried there by the Luna 17 spacecraft which launched on November 10th, 1970. Lunokhod 1 then proceeded to spend the next 11 months transmitting data back to Earth. Lunokhod held the record for the longest functioning rover for 30yrs. -
First spacecraft to land on Venus (or any planet)
On December 15, 1970, the unmanned Soviet Spacecraft Vanera 7 was the first spacecraft to land on any planet, in this case Venus. It measured the temperature and atmosphere on the planet. It could only send information for a short period of time because the extreme temperature and pressure on the planet melted the spacecraft. Multiple Vanera spaceships, Vanera 8-14, continued to travel to Venus and make increasingly more complex measurements. -
First Space Station in Orbit
April 19, 1971, Soviets put the first space station, Salyut 1 into orbit. The astronauts of Soyuz 10, expecting to link to it, had difficulty with docking problems. Astronauts of Soyuz 11 eventually inhabited it for several weeks, but died on reentry to earth as air escaped from their craft. On October 11, 1971 Salyut 1 returned to earth, and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean. -
First thing to Land on Mars (that didn't crash)
On this day the USSR landed the first successful soft landing on Mars with an unmanned spacecraft, the Mars 3. The spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The purpose of the spacecraft was to make scientific measurements on the surface of Mars, for example, temperature, atmospheric pressure etc. The lander landed safely but quit sending data to the orbiter only 20 seconds after it landed. It is guessed that a cause of it’s failure was a dust storm occurring at the time of landing. -
First Space Shuttle Launch
On April 12th, 1981, the United States launched the first space shuttle to orbit the earth, Columbia. Columbia spent two days in orbit testing its systems and did a smooth landing, airport style at Edwards Airforce Base in California. It was piloted by Commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen. The shuttle orbiter fleet has accomplished over 100 orbital missions. -
First Spacecraft to go in Orbit around Jupiter
NASA’s Galileo spacecraft was the first and only spacecraft to go into orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995. It succeeded in going in close observation of it’s moons and discovered light atmospheres in three of them. It also discovered the possibility of liquids below the surfaces. It observed the collision of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet into Jupiter’s atmosphere in 1994 on it’s way to orbit. -
First spacecraft to Orbit Mercury
On August 3, 2004 NASA launched the first unmanned spacecraft, Messenger, to orbit the planet Mercury. On it’s journey to Mercury, Messenger passed Venus. Messenger entered orbit around Mercury in March, 2011. The spacecraft’s 4.5 billion mile trip included 15 trips around the sun, 1 flyby of earth, 2 flybys of Venus, and 3 flybys of Mercury. The spacecraft Messenger continues to orbit Mercury today. -
First Private Corporation to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft
SpaceX corp. is a private corporation that serves to transport items. SpaceX was the first privately owned company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft. On December 9, 2010 it launched the Falcon 9, a Dragon Capsule from Cape Canaveral, FL. The capsule was in space for approximately three hours. The spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean. The test was a success and with NASA backing it, it is a breakthrough for future use in getting supplies and even personnel into space.
