History of The Space Race

First Man-Made Object in Space

May 10, 1946

In May 1946, a United States radiation experiment (using a captured V2 rocket) made the first crossing of the Karman Line. Image Source: By US Navy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

First Animals in Space

Feb 20, 1947

The United States sent up several fruit flies in another captured V2 rocket as part of an experiment to observe the effects of radiation exposure and high altitudes on animals. It also carried a sample of moss. The fruit flies were recovered alive.

First Primate in Space

Jun 14, 1949

Albert II, a rhesus monkey, became the first primate in space inside yet another US-launched V2 rocket. He reached about 134 kilometers, and died on impact due to a parachute failure. Image Credit: http://www.outerspaceuniverse.org/the-first-monkey-in-outer-space-albert-ii.html

Sputnik 1

Oct 4, 1957

Russia started the race proper by putting the first man-made satellite in orbit. Even though it was equipped with no scientific instruments, it provided valuable information: most importantly, its drag could be used to identify the density of the atmosphere, paving the way for future launches. It was t Image Credit: By U.S. Air Force photo (http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil; exact source) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Luna 1

Jan 2, 1959

Luna 1 was a Russian probe intended to collide with the moon and report back several types of observation, including radiation and magnetic fields it encountered on the way. However, due to a miscalculation it missed by about 6000 kilometers, actually going past the moon and causing it to escape Earth's orbit. Image Credit: RIA Novosti archive, image #510848 / Alexander Mokletsov / CC-BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Explorer 6

Aug 7, 1959

This is the first image of Earth taken from orbit. Explorer 6 was an otherwise fairly unremarkable satellite inteded to study radiation in the upper atmosphere, but it also had a camera. The results were... slightly unimpressive without that information. The white streak is a cloud formation over the central Pacific Ocean. Image Source: http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2002-000200.html

Luna 2

Sep 12, 1959

Luna 2 was a do-over by Russia of Luna 1. This one succeeded, crashing on the moon and reporting back that it had no notable magnetic field or radiation belts. It also carried several USSR pennants, symbolically claiming the moon as a propaganda point. The point is somewhat lessened by the fact that they were almost certainly destroyed beyond recognition by the force of the impact.

Sputnik 5

Aug 19, 1960

Sputnik 5, properly known as Korabol-Sputnik 2, marked the first living creatures (a pair of dogs named Belka and Strelka, two rats, and several mice and fruit flies) to go into orbit and return. It also carried a television camera and radio that recorded them moving and the dogs barking when they saw Echo, a US satelite out the window. All of the animals were recovered safely, and the techniques were adapted for Vostok 1.
Image Source: http://sovieteramuseum.com/?p=723

M-R 2

Jan 31, 1961

Mercury-Redstone 2 was the first manned mission by United States The "man" in question was Ham, a 3-year old chimpanzee. He performed several tasks only a fraction of a second slower than on Earth. He suffered only a bruised nose during splashdown. Image Source: By NASA (http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/IMAGES/HIGH/6100114.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Vostok 1

Apr 12, 1961

Vostok 1 was the first manned capsule sent into space, and the first into orbit. It was crewed by Yuri Gagarin. However - and this does not diminish his achievement - Gagarin was glorified payload. As it was still uncertain how a human might react to weighlesness, the entire mission was designed to be controlled automatically. Image Source: By Arkiv: Sydsvenskan (sydsvenskan.se) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

M-R 3

May 5, 1961

Dubbed "Freedom 7" by astronaut Alan Shepard, M-R 3 was the first piloted space mission. Unlike Gagarin a mere three weeks earlier, Shepard had control of the capsule's facing and the rockets that later missions would use to return from orbit (though he did not acheive orbit, so they were not necessary). Image Source: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1076.html

Voskhod 2

Mar 18, 1965

In an otherwise unremarkable orbital mission, cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev performed the first spacewalk, exiting the capsule to attatch a camera to the exterior of the capsule. In the process of doing this, his suit ballooned out, forcing him to vent the air from his suit to get back in the capsule. This becomes much more impressive with the information that he did this without telling ground control because he didn't want to worry them. Image Source: http://visualrian.ru/ru/site/gallery/#843057

Gemini 6A - Gemini 7 Rendevous

Dec 15, 1965

This was the first rendevous between two spacecraft. While they did not dock, the capsules came as close as one foot of each other, at one point keeping together so well that neither crew had to make any adjustments for up to twenty minutes. Image source: By NASA (Great Images in NASA Description) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Apollo 11

Jul 16, 1969

This is the first of only six manned landings on the moon. It is the event that, more than anything else, marks the United States winning the Space Race. There could be, and no doubt have been, entire books written about it, but the remaining part of the lander says everything necessary about it: Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon.
We came in peace for all mankind. Image Source: http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001209.html