Manned Spaced Exploration Timeline By bryce0117 Oct 14, 1947 Chuck Yaeger pilots X-1 rocket plane, breaks sound barrier. Chuck Yaeger pilots X-1 rocket plane, breaks sound barrier. Period: Oct 14, 1947 to Feb 1, 2003 Manned Space Exploration Timeline In 1801, Guiseppe Piazzi dicovered Ceres, the first known asteroid. Nov 3, 1957 U.S.S.R launches Sputnik 2, carrying a dog named Laika. Apr 12, 1961 Uri Gagarin becomes first human to orbit Earth. May 5, 1961 Allan Shepard becomes first American in space, completes 15-minute suborbital hop. May 25, 1961 U.S. President J.F. Kennedy announces project to land human on Moon within decade. Feb 20, 1962 John Glenn becomes first American in orbit. Jul 20, 1969 Apollo11 astronauts land on the moon. Feb 11, 1970 Japan launches first spacecraft, using Lambda 4S rocket. May 14, 1973 U.S. launches Skylab spacestation. Astronauts soon follow. Apr 12, 1981 First flight off the Space Shuttle. Jan 28, 1986 U.S. loses Space shuttle Challenger with all its crew,exploding shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral. Feb 1, 2003 Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates above Texas, during re-entry.