-
First Steps
Germans were the first to start the steps to putting man-made objects into space. During World War 2, German Scientist, were testing V-2 rocket and on Oct. 3rd, 1942 launched it with A-4. -
1947
The Soviets, along with help from the Germans, launched sub-orbital V-2 rockets and their of variation of R-1. Some of these flights included radiation and animal experiments. the suborbital experiments only allowed a very short time in space which limited their usefulness. -
Fruit Flies
In 1947, fruit flies were the first animal to see space, on a american version of the V-2. -
The Space Race
"Beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system." - History.com -
Sputnik 1
The Soviet launched Sputnik, the first successful orbital mission in 1957. The satellite weighed about 183 lb, and is believed to have orbited Earth at a height of about 160 mi.
It had two radio transmitters (20 and 40 MHz), which emitted "beeps" that could be heard by radios around the globe. Sputnik 1 was launched by an R-7 rocket. It burned up upon re-entry on 3 January 1958. -
Laika (Soviet dog)
The first animal in orbit -
Vanguard satellite
This success of Sputnik 1 lead to the building of the American Space program. NASA built Vanguard Satellite to show the Soviets that the United States wasn't going to lose the Cold War, or let them be on top of the techologly to go into space. Nasa was unsuccessfully launched the Vanguard satellite into orbit two months later. -
Explorer 1
U.S. successfully launched Explorer 1 on a Juno rocket in orbit. -
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
If the Soviet successds in space would mean that the U.S. is losing the Cold War. So Congressional leaders and soon to be President Lyndon B. Johnson signed NASA into law. -
Luna 2
First artificial object to reach another celestial body was Luna 2 -
First Human in Space
Yuri Gagarin, a 27 year old Russian cosmonaut, was the first human in space, on the spaceflight Vostok 1. The flight lasted about an hour and 48 minutes. This was a demonstration of the advanced Soviet space program, which opened up a new era of human flights. He had to bail out and land using his parachute, because the Vostok 1 was was made to crash land. -
First American In Space
Within a month of Vostok 1 the U.S. launched the first their first human fligh with Alan Shepard's suborbital flight in Mercury-Redstone 3. -
U.S. First Orbital Flight
Acieved with John Glenn's Mercury-Atlas 6. -
Venus
Mariner 2 did a flyby of Venus -
First Woman In Space
Valentina Tereshkova orbited the earth 48 times in Vostok 6. -
First Space Walk
Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov left his spaceship the Voskhod 2 for a 12 minute walk. -
Mars
Mariner 4 did a flyby of Mars -
Sergey Korolyov
Chief engineer of the Soviet space program, died which made the Sovites start to have doubt about space. Without him the drive to continue to go into space wasn't there as much. -
Luna 9
The first automatic landing was performed by Luna 9 -
Apollo 1
Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee are killed, as Apollo 1 was being round tested, a fire broke out.
When this happened the Soviets were beginning to question wether or not to continue in the space race. -
Luna 10
Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon. -
First Manned Apollo Mission
As time was running out for President John F. Kennedy's in the 1960's, he told the nation that he would put a man on the moon before 1970. That mission was Apollo 11 -
First Manned Moon Orbital Launch
Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders orbited the Moon ten times, as a result of this they also took pictures of Earth. A blue-and-white marble rising above the stark lunar surface, which have a boost to the nascent environmental movement. -
First American In Orbit
Astronaut John H. Glenn orbits the Earth. He orbited the Earth three times in around a five hour flight. -
First Manned Landing
Was performed by Apollo 11 on July 20th, 1969, as the United States landed on the moon, that was the last step. Was soon as the United States had landed on the moon, it was the last step in winning the Cold War, for the Soviets had not been the first to clam the moon. -
Apollo 13
Planning to make a third landing on but didn't make it. Astronauts James Lovell, Jr., John Swigert, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr., used the lunar module as a lifeboat, slingshot around the moon, and return safely to Earth. "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here," was the famous term that was used by John Swigert, Jr. to explain the explosion. -
Handshake in Space
"The joint Apollo-Soyuz mission sent three U.S. astronauts into space aboard an Apollo spacecraft that docked in orbit with a Soviet-made Soyuz vehicle. When the commanders of the two crafts officially greeted each other, their “handshake in space” served to symbolize the gradual improvement of U.S.-Soviet relations in the late Cold War-era" - History.com -
Salyut 1 Space Station
Three cosmonauts from the Soviet Union's Soyuz 11 mission successfully board the Salyut 1 space station. They conducted scientific experiments and sets a new endurance record for space travel in the 24 days they were there.
A failed valve causes the Soyuz craft to vent air on the return home, resulting in the death of all three on there way back to Earth. -
Rover on the Moon
The first rover on the Moon was an electric cart that Apollo 15, Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin are the first drivers, putting 17 miles on the cart. -
First U.S. Space Station
A six-year mission, with three crews totaling nine astronauts occupy the station in 1973 and 1974. July 11, 1979, Skylab fell to Earth. -
Jupiter
Pioneer 10 did a flyby of Jupiter -
Mercury
Mariner 10 did a flyby of Mercury -
U.S. and Russian Astronauts Together
Crews from Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 meet in Earth orbit, shake hands on live TV, and spend two days together. Called the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. This is the last mission the U.S. did for six years. -
Viking 1
Viking 1 was the first landing on Mars, pictures show that the surface of Mars is stark, rocky landscape much like some Earthly deserts. Viking 1 did tests to see if there was once life on Mars, these tests are still going on. -
Voyagers 1 and 2
NASA launches two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, for a tour of the solar system. Voyager 1 visited Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's moon Titan. Voyager 2 visited Uranus and Neptune. -
Saturn
Pioneer 11 did a flyby of Saturn -
First Space Shuttle
NASA launched the first manned cosmic commuter, the space shuttle, called Columbia. Commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen spend two days in orbit around the Earth. -
First Operational Space Shuttle Mission
After four test runs, Columbia, carries a crew of four for the first time. -
First American Woman in Space
Sally K. Ride was the first American woman in space. -
Untethered Spacewalk
Astronaut Bruce McCandless exited the space shuttle Challenger without a safety line.He flow 320 feet away from the shuttle and returns safely. -
Challenger Explosion
Space shuttle Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after liftoff, and all nine even astronauts are killed, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. -
Mir Space Station Launched
Russian Mir space station, called the core module launched. -
Uranus
Voyager 2 did a flyby of Uranus -
Satellites
During thr 1980's satellites took off, and gave way to many new things. What satellites brought us are things such as; exanasion to telvision programs, the discovery of the ozone hole above Antartica, forset fire, and even pictures from the nuclear power-plant disaster at Chernobyl in 1986. Alsong with all of those things, it also gave us new pictures and looks into what the center of our galaxy looks like, and finding new stars. -
Neptune
Voyager 2 did a flyby of Neptune -
Hubble Space Telescope Launched
The Hubble Space Telescope is an orbiting collection of instruments designed to view the universe. -
Pathfinder Probe
Pathfinder Probe landed on Mars, and started to discover its surroundings. -
John Glenn
After being the first American in Space, John Glenn returned to make another trip. He is also the oldest person it be in space. -
Columbia's Return
Columbia space shuttle breaks up on reentry high over Texas. Due to issues and no way to get out, all sevewn aboard died. -
Spirit Rover
NASA's most complex rover, only made to last three months but is still counituing its mission to explore Mars. -
Private Spaceflight's
The first ever manned private flight, SpaceShipOne. This spaceship won the Ansari X Prize for a privately funded reusable spacecraft. -
Cassini Spacecraft
First probe to circle Saturn, breaking through it mapped the giant plante, rings, and moons. -
After Columbia
Discovery is the first space launch after Columbia, due to issues didn't luanch until July 2006. -
Stardust
Spacecraft Stardust returns to earth, along with the first ever dust from a comet. -
Phoenix Mars Lander
NASA's launches Phoenix Mars Lander. -
Messenger
Messenger a NASA space porbe skimmed 124 miles above Mercury -
Spacecraft Kepler
mission is to search for planets outside our solar system, in a distant area of the Milky Way, launched by NASA -
Exploring Mars and Asteroids
President Barack Obama signed legislation to foucs on exploaring Mars and asteroids -
Atlantis
Atlantis became the last American space shuttle to be launched. -
Voyager 1
Launched in 1977, entered interstellar space -
International Space Station
NASA astronauts wrapped up successful repairs on the space station. -
Future for Space
With the coming years the government and pirvate companies will have to work together to go further into space expolartion. By working and investing together, they can reach new heights in the up coming years, such as putting robots or even humans on Mars to explore. Also making space it's own tourist site. As the economy has its up and downs, so does this new space program, as it all depends on the ecomonic growthand political ageanda of the United States. -
The Year of the Dwarf Planets
In 2015, there are already two missions planed to explore dwarf plants to learn more about life on this planets. They will be traveling to Ceres, the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, and NASA's New Horizons which is planned to go to Pulto.
