-
There are some first times in space that stand out. These are listed in the timeline. For the events that have January 1 listed for the month and date, the year given is accurate. However, the month and date are not accurate since the information source did not list them.
-
Robert Goddard, from America, launched an eleven foot-long rocket that was liquid-fueled. It flew about the height of a two-story house, and its flight only lasted about two and one half seconds. Unfortunatly, the rocket did not reach outer space.
-
A Russian dog named Laika was the first living creature in space. She made a seven-day journey in Sputnik 2.
-
The first satellite in space was Sputnik 1. It was launched by Russians in October 1957. Sputnik 1 took 90 minutes to circle the planet once.
-
The first person in space was Yuri Gagarin. Yuri was Russian. He used a small capsule called Vostok 1 to make a two hour orbit around Earth.
-
The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova. She was Russian. Using Vostok 6, she made a three-day space journey.
-
The first person to make a spacewalk was Alexei Leonov. He was Russian. Alexei's spacewalk was ten minutes, and he tied himself to his capsule so he would not float off.
-
The first person to set foot on the moon was Neil Armstrong. He was American. Neil flew there in Apollo 11 with two other people.
-
The first two people to drive on the Moon were David Scott and James Irwin. Apollo 15 had carried a battery-powered buggy called a Lunar Rover, and they used that to drive on the Moon.
-
The first space station was Salyut 1. It was launched in 1971. Salyut had room for three crew members. It was supposed to go into permanent orbit around Earth, but its orbit was too low.
-
The first reusable spacecraft was Columbia. It launched in 1981. Columbia orbited Earth at about 17,300 mph.