Space By thisistupid Oct 4, 1957 USSR launches Sputnik 1. Space Race Jan 2, 1959 Luna 1, first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R. Time line of space Apr 1, 1960 April 1, 1960 - Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the U.S. More Space Timeline Apr 12, 1961 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. Space Timeline Feb 20, 1962 Mercury Friendship 7 lifts off with John H. Glenn, Jr., the first American in orbit, and orbits the Earth three times. Time Line Jun 16, 1963 Vostok 6 carries Soviet Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova, the first woman in space and orbits the Earth 48 times. Time line Jul 31, 1964 July 31, 1964 - U.S. Ranger 7 relays the first close-range photographs of the Moon. Time Line Feb 3, 1966 February 3, 1966 - Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon. Time Line Apr 23, 1967 April 23, 1967 - Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched, carrying Vladimir M. Komarov. On April 24 it crashed, killing Komarov, the first spaceflight fatality. Time Line Nov 11, 1982 Space shuttle Challenger is launched. Time Line
