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Sputnik 1
History changed on October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 launched the world's first artificial satellite. The word 'Sputnik' originally meant 'fellow traveler,' but has become synonymous with 'satellite' in modern Russian. The satellite transmitters operated for three weeks until the on-board chemical batteries failed. The orbit of the inactive satellite was later observed optically to decay 92 days after launch. (January 4, 1958)
https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ -
Explorer 1
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. The primary science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Once in space, this experiment, provided by Dr. James Van Allen revealed a really low cosmic ray count. Van Allen then theorized that it may have been saturated by very strong radiation.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969. The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set. Which was to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth. During the exploration, the two astronauts were also instructed to gather samples of lunar-surface materials for return to Earth. On July 19, after Apollo 11 had flown behind the moon out of contact with Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html -
Challenger
Challenger hosted the first spacewalk of the space shuttle program on April 7, 1983. Which carried the first American female and first black astronauts. Temperatures dipped below freezing and some of the shuttle's engineers were concerned about the seals on the rocket boosters. During its 10th launch, on Jan. 28, 1986, the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing the seven crewmembers and changing NASA's space program forever.
https://www.space.com/18084-space-shuttle-challenger.html -
Hubble Space Telescope
The Large Space Telescope was renamed the Hubble in honor of Edwin Hubble, an American astronomer. Who determined that the universe extended beyond the borders of Milky Way. Which then led to the world's first space telescope which was launched on April 24, 1990. The effort costs $1.5 billion, but there would be ongoing costs both expected and unexpected. Also, with Hubble, distant objects are revealed that otherwise can't be seen at all. .https://www.space.com/15892-hubble-space-telescope.html -
Mars Rovers
The first Mars Rover was the Pathfinder which launched on Dec. 4, 1996, embarking on an eight-month cruise to the Red Planet. On July 4, 1997, NASA's Pathfinder mission touched down on the Red Planet. Delivering an eponymous lander and a small rover called Sojourner the agency's first wheeled Mars craft to the surface. After the lander touched down, the Sojourner rover rolled down a ramp onto Mars' red dirt.
https://www.space.com/37387-nasa-mars-pathfinder-20-years-anniversary.html -
Space X (founding)
SpaceX, in full Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, was the American aerospace company founded on May 6, 2002. Which helped usher in the era of commercial spaceflight. It was the first private company to successfully launch and return a spacecraft from Earth orbit. SpaceX was formed by Elon Musk in the hopes of revolutionizing the aerospace industry and making affordable spaceflight a reality. The company entered the arena with the Falcom 1 rocket.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceX
