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Space Exploration Timeline

By as20243
  • First Telescope

    First Telescope

    Galileo made his first telescope in 1609, modeled after telescopes produced in other parts of Europe that could magnify objects three times.

  • First Exposition of Rocket Mechanics

    The British mathematician William Moore publishes Treatise on the Motion of Rockets. This work features the first exposition of rocket mechanics based on Newton's third law of motion.

  • First Liquid Fueled Rocket

    U.S. rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket from his Aunt Effie's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. The 4-foot high rocket dubbed "Nell" reaches an altitude of 41 feet and a speed of about 60 miles per hour. The flight lasts only 2 1/2 seconds, but paves the way for the U.S. rocket program.
  • First Rocket

    First Rocket

    The first rocket which could fly high enough to get into space was the V2 missile which was first launched by Germany in 1942. The first rocket which actually launched something into space was used to launch Sputnik, the first satellite, on October 4, 1957. The rocket that launched Sputnik was a R-7 ICBM rocket.

  • First American-Designed Rocket Reaches Space

    The United States launches its first American-designed rocket. Known as the Wac Corporal, the rocket reaches the edge of space at an altitude of 50 miles after being launched from the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico.
  • First Dog in Space

    First Dog in Space

    Laika was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth.
  • First Person (and man) in Space.

    First Person (and man) in Space.

    Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Russian Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961.
  • First Man to Survive a Full Day in Space

    First Man to Survive a Full Day in Space

    Titov's flight finally proved that humans could live and work in space. He was the first person to orbit the Earth multiple times (a total of 17), to spend more than a day in space, to sleep in orbit and to suffer from space sickness.
  • First Woman in Space

    First Woman in Space

    Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a Russian former cosmonaut. She was the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than four hundred applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.
  • First Man On The Moon

    First Man On The Moon

    Apollo 11's mission was to land two men on the moon. They also had to come back to Earth safely. Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11.

  • First Launch of the Space Shuttle

    The first launch of the space shuttle on April 12, 1981, became an iconic moment for NASA and for the nation. Columbia's launch plume was a welcome sight to the Kennedy workforce who had labored for years to reach this point. Liftoff came after a precise, on-schedule countdown.
  • MTV's First Broadcast

    MTV's First Broadcast

    MTV kicked off its first broadcast at 12:01 a.m. August 1, 1981, with footage of Columbia's countdown and liftoff, the Apollo 11 launch, then the landing on the moon as an astronaut saluted the MTV flag and a voice-over announced, "Ladies and gentlemen: rock and roll."
  • First African-American in Space.

    First African-American in Space.

    Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space.
  • First Woman to Walk in Space

    First Woman to Walk in Space

    Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space.
  • First Shuttle Crash

    First Shuttle Crash

    The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger (OV-099) (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members, which included five NASA astronauts and two Payload Specialists.