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Period: to
Space
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Sputnik 1
the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until January 4, 1958. -
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 -
Luna 3
translunar satellite is launched, orbiting the moon and photographing 70 percent of the far side of the moon. -
Discoverer XIV
launches the first U.S. camera-equipped Corona spy satellite -
Soviet Venus 3
launched, becoming the first craft to impact Venus on March 1, 1966. -
Gemini 7
launched carrying Frank Borman and James A. Lovell, Jr., making 206 orbits around Earth and proving a trip to the Moon possible. -
Soviet Luna 9
first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon -
Mariner 7
returns high-resolution images of the Martian surface, concentrating on the southern hemisphere -
American Apollo
the first international spacecraft rendezvous -
Salyut 5
launched, remaining in orbit until August 8, 1977 -
Soviet Salyut 6
space station is launched. Its crews include members from Czechoslovakia, Poland, GDR, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, and Romania. -
ESA
launches a fourth Ariane rocket. -
Columbia
fifth mission -
Supernova 1987A
blazes into view -
Galileo
spacecraft from Shuttle Atlantis flight STS-34, which took infrared images of Venus, and images of the asteroid Ida, before continuing to Jupiter. -
U.S. Pegasus rocket
deployed from a B-52 bomber, and launched the Pegsat satellite in the first demonstration of the Pegasus launch vehicle -
Spacecraft Ulysses
flies around Jupiter, on its way to the sun -
Columbia
Lifts off on its 21st space flight, setting a new shuttle in-space endurance record of almost 18 days. This flight carries Story Musgrave, at that time the oldest man to fly in space at 61 years of age. -
Discovery
Lifts off for a 12-day mission to deploy and retrieve the Crista-Spas 2 satellite, which studied the Earth's middle atmosphere. This flight also tested various infra-red and ultraviolet instrumentation, and tested the Japanese robot-arm to be used for the International Space Station. -
Lunar Prospector
the first NASA mission to the Moon in 25 years, and the first dedicated to lunar research since Apollo 17 in 1972. -
Shenzhou
the first unmanned test of their manned capsule from China
