-
USSR launches Sputnik 1
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S. -
Period: to
The Space Race
The fight to get to the moon. -
Explorer 1 is launched.
It was the first American satellite to reach orbit. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt. Explorer 1 was designed and built by the California Institute of Technology's JPL under the direction of Dr. William H. Pickering. It was the second satellite to carry a mission payload. -
Luna 1 is launched by the USSR
It is the first man made object to orbit the Sun. While traveling through the outer Van Allen radiation belt, the spacecraft's scintillator made observations indicating that a small number of high energy particles exist in the outer belt. The measurements obtained during this mission provided new data on the Earth's radiation belt and outer space. The Moon was found to have no detectable magnetic field. The first ever direct observations and measurements of the solar wind. -
Yuri Gagarin First Man in Space.
Orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space. Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was sent by the Russians on the Vostok 1 space craft. He became the soviet hero and this advanced the Russians in the space race. -
Alan B. Shepard First American in Space.
Soon after the russians sent a man in outer spaace, the United States sent Alan Shepard. He was on board a tiny mercury capsule by the name of Freedom 7. -
John Glenn orbits the Earth three times
On February 20, 1962, NASA launched one of the most important flights in American history. The mission? Send a man to orbit Earth, observe his reactions and return him home safely. The pilot of this historic flight, John Glenn, became a national hero and a symbol of American ambition. -
Apollo 17's Return from the Moon
Apollo 17 was the last or most recent moon landing by the United States. The crew consisted of Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt. The mission took about 12 days and no one has returned to the moon since.
