Space exploration timeline By Ck20325 Jan 1, 1608 First telescope built by Galileo Jan 1, 1610 First time Galileo looked into the sky Jan 1, 1670 First reflecting telescope built by Sir Isaac Newton A reflecting telescope has a concave mirror Mar 3, 1956 First flight to exceed three times the speed of light Jul 14, 1956 First close up image of Mars Oct 4, 1957 The USSR launched Sputnik 1 Jan 31, 1958 Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States Apr 12, 1961 A soviet cosmonaut became first human in space and in orbit Apr 12, 1961 Russian cosmonaut yuri Gargin became first human in space Nov 18, 1969 First men were on the moon The first men on the moon were Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin Apr 12, 1981 Columbia became the first space shuttle to be launched Jan 1, 1984 Astronaut Bruce Mccanales became first man to take a untethered space walk Jan 28, 1989 The space shuttle challenger disintegrated in mid-air Jan 1, 1990 First telescope in space: the Hubble telescope Jan 1, 1993 The space endeavor made the first servicing mission on the Hubble space telescope