-
Period: to
Science Exploration
-
The First Rocket
Robert Goddard's liquid-fueled rocket rose 12 m. into the air. -
First U.S. satellite
Explorer 1 was launched. It orbited Earth 58,000 times before burning up in Earth's atmosphere in 1970. -
Luna 1 was launched
Luna 1, first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R. -
First weather satellite
Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the U.S. -
First planetary probe
Mariner 2 traveled to Venus and collected data for 3 months. The craft now orbits the Sun. -
First Walk
The first space walk is made from Soviet Voskhod 2 by Cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov. Duration is 12 minutes. -
First probe to outer solar system
After flying past Jupiter, Pioneer 10 is still traveling onward, someday to exit the solar system. -
SMS-1
NASA launches the first Synchronous Meteorological Satellite, SMS-1. -
Supernova
Supernova 1987A blazes into view. -
Galileo Space Probe
The Galileo space probe safely completes its encounter with Jupiter's ice moon, Europa, at an altitude of 343 km. Later in the year, on May 30, Galileo flies by Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede at an altitude of 808 km.
