Space 300x225

Space exploration timeline

By mm18460
  • Period: to

    first explorations

  • first moons

    first moons
    1610- The first spotting of the moon through a telescope by Galileo Galilei
  • student rockets

    1929-Hermann Oberth launches first personal rocket with students
  • first soviot rocket

    1933-Soviet Union launches first rocket of there own
  • V-2

    1946-First research flight launched by the U.S. captured by the V-2 space rocket
  • fruit flies?!?

    1947-First animals launched into space (fruit flies) by the U.S.
  • dog in space

    dog in space
    1957-First animal launched into orbit, dog named Laika launched by USSR and did not return alive
  • sputink 1

    sputink 1
    October 4, 1957 - 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.
  • Period: to

    a great leap in science

  • first us satellite

    first us satellite
    January 31, 1958 - 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.
  • Luna 9

    Luna 9
    February 3, 1966 - Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon.
  • Venera 4

    Venera 4
    October 18, 1967 - Venera 4 sends a descent capsule into the Venusian atmosphere, returning data about its composition.
  • Lunokhod 1

    November 17, 1970 - Luna 17 lands on the moon, with the first automatic robot, Lunokhod 1. Driven by a five-man team on earth, traveled over surface for 11 days.
  • the SMS-1

    May 17, 1974 - NASA launches the first Synchronous Meteorological Satellite, SMS-1.
  • the reach of Venus

    the reach of Venus
    December, 1978 - Two Pioneer spacecraft reach Venus. One drops four probes into the atmosphere, while the other maps the surface.
  • Pioneer 11

    September 1, 1979 - Pioneer 11 reaches Saturn, flying to within 13,000 miles and taking the first close-up photographs.
  • Period: to

    how we explore now

  • voyager flyby

    voyager flyby
    August, 1982 - Voyager 2 completes its flyby of Saturn.
  • STS-41D

    August 30, 1984 - The third space shuttle, Discovery, lifts off on it's maiden voyage (STS-41D). Crew: Henry W. Hartsfield, Michael L. Coats, Richard Mullane, Steven Hawley, Judith A. Resnik, and Charles D. Walker.
  • the challeng... er. challenger

    the challeng... er. challenger
    April 29, 1985 - The Challenger carries the ESA Spacelab-3 into orbit (STS-51B)
  • Halley's comet

    March, 1986 - Spacecraft from the U.S.S.R, Japan, and Western Europe fly by Halley's Comet on it's 30th recorded appearance.
  • ISS

    December 5, 2001 - Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched carrying the Raffaello logistics module back to the ISS with new supplies.