Space Exploration Timeline

By eb20205
  • Telescopic observations

    First telescopic observation of the night sky: Discovery of Jupiter's moons, Lunar craters and the phases of Venus. (Galileo Galilei)
  • Motions

    Newton's laws of motion. And law of universal gravitation
  • Rockets

    First exploration of the rocket equation based on Newton's third law of motion.
  • The Moon

    First clear telescopic photograph of the Moon.
  • Serious Work

    First serious work published by Russian scientist that showed Space Exploration possible
  • Rockets

    Rockets
    Patents on multi stage and liquid field rockets (R. H. Goddard)
  • Takeoff

    R. H. Goddard launches first liquid field rocket.
  • Rockets in Space

    Rockets in Space
    German V-2 rocket enters outer space
  • Rockets in Space (again)

    First U.S. designed rocket to reach edge of outer space.
  • Animals in Space

    1st animal in space (fruit flies). U.S. V-2.
  • Missiles

    First ICBM intercontinental ballistic missile by the USSR.
  • Dogs in Space

    Dogs in Space
    First animal in orbit. (Dog-Laika) Sputnik1
  • NASA

    NASA
    NASA (stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was formed.
  • Man In Space

    Man In Space
    Yuri Gagarin was the first man to enter space.
  • Docking

    Germini 8 was the first space craft to successfully dock to a different space craft.
  • The Moon

    The Moon
    Neil Armstrong was the first human to step foot on the moon
  • Rover

    The first rover ever explored Mars
  • Skylab

    First piece of Skylab was launched into space. It was the first United States space station.
  • Apollo-Soyuz

    The American Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 dock in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
  • Viking 1

    The first rover, Viking 1, landed on planet Mars.
  • Photos and Soil

    First photos and soil samples from the surface of Mars.
  • Images

    Voyager 1 reached Saturn and began transmitting images.
  • Columbia

    Columbia
    Columbia became the 1st space shuttle to be launched.
  • Challenger

    The second space shuttle, Challenger, was launched.
  • Discovery

    The third space shuttle, Discovery, was launched.
  • Explosion

    Explosion
    Challenger exploded after liftoff.
  • Hubble

    Hubble
    The space shuttle, Discovery, deployed the Hubble Space telescope.
  • Women in Space

    Mae Jeminson was the first African-American woman in space.
  • Eileen Collins

    Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle pilot
  • Mars Pathfinder

    The Mars pathfinder arrives on Mars and starts transmitting images.
  • Break Up

    Columbia Space Shuttle broke up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
  • Curiosity

    NASA launches Curiosity, the biggest, best equipped robot ever sent to explore another planet. It will reach Mars in 2012