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First Telescope
Galileo Galilei invented the first telescope which allowed him to look at the moon and sunspots, see the four satellites of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and watch a supernova.
(Note: The date is random, though the year is correct.) -
Publication of Principia
Sir Isaac Newton, an English astronomer, published his book "Philosophae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. This explained his laws of motion, the law of universal gravitation, and Kepler's laws for the motions of planets. Today, it's still considered one of the most scientific books ever written. -
Robert Goddard's Amazing Publication
Note: The date is random. I could not find an exact day when this happened. American astronomoer Robert Goddard published a work titled "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" that explained his theories for rocket flight and his research of solid and liquid fueled rockets. It's one of the most important books in the rocketry science. -
First Liquid-Fueled Rocket
Professor Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts using liquid oxygen and gasoline as propellents. He did it in his aunt's farmyard, and the flight only lasted 2 1/2 seconds. -
Development of V-2 Rocket
Note: The date is random. I could not find an exact date. Germany began to work on an Aggregate Rocket Series. German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun directed this, and this program eventually led to the making of the V-2 rocket, which the Nazis used for mass destruction. -
First Suborbital Launch
After two failures, Germany finally launched their V-2 rocket, which made an amazing altitude of 62 miles. It was the first man-made object to achieve suborbital spaceflight. -
First American Rocket in Space
The United States launched its first aircraft missile, which reached the edge of space with an altitude of 50 miles. It was launched at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. -
First Animals in Space
When the V-2 rocket was launched from New Mexico, they had fruit flies inside of it, which became the first animals (well, bugs) to ever leave the planet. There were fruit flies, rye seeds, and cotton seeds in the rocket that reached an altitude of 60 miles. The load returned to earth just fine. -
First Satellite Launch
History changed when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1. The satellite was the size of a beach ball, and took 98 minutes to orbit Earth -
First Dog in Space
Laika was not only the first dog, but the first living creature to orbit the earth. Sadly, she died about a week after blasting off. Fortunately though, she died painlessly. -
First Satellite Launched by U.S.
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the U.S., and was designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Labratory in California. Explorer 1 was launched in Florida. -
Sputnik 5 was Launched
The Soviet Union Sputnik 5 was launched, and it had two dogs on named Strelka and Belka. The mission to orbit lasted a day, and the two dogs became the first living things to survive a trip into space. -
First Human in Space
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. His Vostok spacecraft finished an orbit around the planet earth on April 12, 1961. He was born on March 9, 1934, and died on March 28, 1968. -
First American in Space
Alan "Al" Shepard became the first American to ever get into space. He was an American naval officer, a flag officer, and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He was born on November 28, 1923, and died on July 21, 1998. -
President Kennedy Challenged the Country
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth..." were the words John F. Kennedy said when he challenged America to land a man on the moon during the Space Race. -
First Spacecraft on the Moon
During the Space Race, Luna 9 landed on the moon. The mission is unnamed, and it belongs to the Soviet Union. It launched for the moon on Janurary 31, 1966. it was the first successful lunar mission. -
First Moon Landing
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon after a ferocious space race against Russia. This is when Neil said a very famous quote: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." -
Apollo 13 was Launched
This was the third mission to land on the moon. However, an oxygen tank exploded and forced the crew (James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise) to orbit the moon without landing. -
First Space Station
Skylab was the first space station that was launched and operated by NASA. From 1973 - 1979, it orbited earth. Inside it, there was a space observatory, a workshop, and other systems. -
Voyager 2 Reached Saturn
The closest approach Voyager 2 got to Saturn occured on August 26, 1981. It is the only spacecraft to have ever reached one of the ice giants. It has been operating for 38 years now. -
First American Woman in Space
Sally Ride was the first American Woman in space, who went on Challenger's second mission. She was born on May 26, 1951, and died on July 23, 2012. She lived to be 62. -
First African-American in Space
Guion Bluford was the first African American to be sent into space. He is an engineer and a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Between 1983 - 1992, he participated in four space shuttle missions. -
Discovery was Launched
Discovery was the third space shuttle to be launched, and it cost 196 billion dollars to launch it. Its max speed is 17,400 mph, and its first mission, STS-41-D flew from August 30 to September 5. -
Atlantis was Launched
Atlantis was the fourth space shuttle to be launched, and its max speed is 17,580 mph. It got its name from a two-masked sailing ship that operated from 1930 to 1966. -
First Space Telescope
Hubble launched a telescope into space that orbited around Earth, snapping pictures and transferring data to scientists. With this telescope, they were able to look farther into space than ever imagined. -
First Female Shuttle Commander
Eileen Collins was not only a shuttle commander, but was also the first female to be a shuttle pilot. She's a retired astronaut and United States air force colonel. She is still alive to this day. -
Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
Columbia broke apart whilst re-entering Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, over Lousiana and Texas. The disaster was powerful enough to kill all seven crew members on board. -
Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite was Launched
NASA launched a Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or otherwise known as LCROSS. It was assigned to see if there was any ice on the moon. On November 19, 2009, it was confirmed that the satellite did find a great amount of ice in a crater near the moon's south pole. -
Curiosity Landed on Mars
On November 26, 2011, the rover Curiosity was launched, and has successfully landed on Mars the next year in August. It explored the Gale crater on its surface, equipped with techlogically advanced instruments. NASA owns this rover.
