Space Exploration

By jarrodp

  • Publication of Principia

    Sir Isaac Newton, England, published three volumes on the laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation.

  • First Exposition of Rocket Mechanics

    British mathematician William Moore publishes Treatise on the Motion of Rockets.

  • Exploration of Cosmic Space

    Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices.

  • Goddard's Rocket Patents

    U. S. rocket scientist receives two landmark patents for rockets.

  • First Liquid Fueled Rocket Launched

    U. S. rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket.

  • Sputnik

    Soviet Union launched Sputnik

  • Laika, the dog, did not survive space travel

    The Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 was launched with a dog named Laika on board. Laika did not survive the voyage.

  • Explorer 1

    Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into orbit on January 31, 1958. It was designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology. The satellite was sent aloft from Cape Canaveral in Florida by the Jupiter C rocket that was designed, built, and launched by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under the direction of Dr. Wernher Von Braun.

  • First living beings to survive space

    August 19, 1960 - The Soviet craft Sputnik 5 was launched, carrying the dogs Strelka and Belka. They became the first living beings to survive a trip into space.

  • First Human In Space

    April 12, 1961 - Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

  • Sally Ride in space

    June 19, 1983 - Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on Challenger’s second mission.

  • Guion Bluford

    August 30, 1983 - Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space.

  • First Untethered Space Walk

    February 3, 1984 - Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first man to take an untethered space walk.

  • Kathryn Sullivan

    October, 1984 - Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space.

  • Mapping of Venus

    August 10, 1990 - The Magellan spacecraft began mapping the surface of Venus using radar equipment.