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Rocket Timeline
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Sputnik
Sputnik is the first artificial satellite launched into outer space in 1957. -
Explorer 1
Explorer 1, first satallite, launched by the United States in 1958. -
Urgent National Needs Speech
The president, John F. Kennedy, had the “Urgent National Needs” speech in which he was committed to the United States and NASA landing on the Moon by the end of the decade in 1961. -
Glenn Orbits Earth
In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. -
Apollo 13
In 1970, during the flight of Apollo 13, the oxygen tank had damaged several of the power, electrical, and life support systems, but the crew members returned safely to Earth. -
Viking 1
In 1975, the Viking 1 was launched on a trip to Mars. -
1st African American Astronaut
Guion S. Bluford was on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. He became the first African American astronaut. -
Space Exploration Initiative
President George H. W. Bush announced plans for the Space Exploration Initiative in 1989. He called for a space station to be constructed, sending humans to the Moon again, and eventually sending astronauts to Mars. -
Mars Pathfinder
In 1997, the Mars Pathfinder rover landed on Mars. -
1st Woman Commanding Shuttle Mission
In 1999, Columbia’s 26th flight was led by the Air Force Col. Eileen Collins. She was the first woman to command a Shuttle mission. -
John Mather’s Nobel Prize
In 2006, Dr. John Mather, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, received the Nobel Prize for Physics. -
Stardust Mission
In 2004, the Stardust mission, the first sample return mission to a comet, managed to navigate through the nebulous cloud of ice and dust surrounding the comet Wild 2’s nucleus.
