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First Satellite in Space by USSR
On October 4th, 1957, The USSR sent Earth's first satellite into space. This marks the start of the Space Race -
First Animal in Space by USSR
On the 3rd of November in 1957, the USSR sent Laika, a Moscow street dog into Space. She would be the first animal in space, and would sadly die in space -
First Satellite in Space by USA
The USA would send the Explorer 1 into space on February 1st, 1958. This comes after two successful missions by the USSR the year before, Sputnik 1 & 2. -
Creation of NASA
On July 29th, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, officially establishing NASA -
First Animal in Space by USA
Ham the chimp was sent into space on January 31st, 1961 by the USA. He was the first animal to be sent to space by the USA. He would return to Earth alive. -
First man in Space
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the very first man in space, and completed an orbit of Earth on April 12th, 1961. -
First Man in Space by USA
NASA sends Alan Shepard into space on May 5th, 1961. He was sent on the Freedom 7 or the Mercury-Redstone 3. He becomes the first American man in space and the second overall. -
First Man to Orbit Earth (USA)
John Herschel Glenn Jr. became the first man to orbit the Earth, doing it three times for the USA. -
"We choose to go to the Moon" by JFK
A speech made by US President JFK on the nation's focus to be able to get to the Moon, made at Rice University. This speech was used to help bolster public support for getting a man on the moon before 1970. -
First Man to do an EVA (USSR)
Alexei Leonov became the first man ever to do an EVA in space, marking a great victory for the USSR. -
First man to Perform an EVA (USA)
The first man to ever perform an EVA for the USA was Edward White on June 3rd, 1965