Spaceexploration

Race to the Moon: Major Events of the Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union

By aallad
  • First monkey in space. (US)

    First monkey in space. (US)

    Albert II, was the first monkey in space. He was a Rhesus monkey, a type of monkey that originally comes from Asia.
    Albert went into space on 14th June, 1949 in a specially adapted American V2 rocket, that flew to a height of 83 miles from earth.
  • Sputnik 1 Launched by USSR

    Sputnik 1 Launched by USSR

    This is the first man-made object to orbit Earth.
  • First dog in space: Sputnik II (USSR)

    First dog in space: Sputnik II (USSR)

    Sputnik 2, carrying the dog Laika for 7 days in orbit, is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until April 13, 1958.
  • Explorer 1 satellite launched by US

    Explorer 1 satellite launched by US

    Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite in orbit, lifts off at Cape Canaveral using a modified ABMA-JPL Jupiter-C rocket. It carries a scientific experiment of James A. Van Allen, and discovers the Earth's radiation belt.
  • N.A.S.A founded

    N.A.S.A founded

    N.A.S.A. is founded, taking over existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
  • Luna 1 launched by USSR

    Luna 1 launched by USSR

    Luna 1, first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
  • Tiros 1 (US) launched

    Tiros 1 (US) launched

    Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the U.S.
  • First man in space: Vostok 1 (USSR)

    First man in space: Vostok 1 (USSR)

    Vostok 1 is launched by the U.S.S.R., carrying Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gargarin, the first man in space. He orbits the Earth once.
  • First US astronaut in space: Mercury Freedom 7

    First US astronaut in space: Mercury Freedom 7

    Mercury Freedom 7 carries Alan B. Shepard,Jr., the first U.S. Astronaut into space, in a suborbital flight.
  • First woman in space: Vostok 6 (USSR)

    First woman in space: Vostok 6 (USSR)

    Vostok 6 carries Soviet Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova, the first woman in space and orbits the Earth 48 times.
  • First soft landing on the moon: Luna 9 (USSR)

    First soft landing on the moon: Luna 9 (USSR)

    Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon.
  • US soft-lands on moon: Surveyor 1

    US soft-lands on moon: Surveyor 1

    Surveyor 1 is the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. This was to test the landing before sending men to the moon.
  • First man on the moon: Apollo 11 (US)

    First man on the moon: Apollo 11 (US)

    Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the Moon, and the first moonwalk, using Apollo 11.