space race

1st event

Mar 20, 1942

the German V2 was the first rocket to reach 100km from the Earth’s surface

space race

Period: Mar 20, 1942 to Mar 20, 1969

2nd event

Nov 23, 1947

the first animals were launched into space. Fruit flies were used to study the effects of space travel on animals

3rd event

Oct 4, 1957

Russia launched the first satellite into space; Sputnik 1, and the space age had properly begun

4th event

Apr 12, 1961

Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Gagarin's spacecraft, Vostok 1, completed one orbit of the earth, and landed about two hours after launch.

5th event

Mar 20, 1964

The first woman in space was Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

last event

Jul 20, 1969

Neil Armstrong, and then Buzz Aldrin took "one small step" and became the first men on the moon. The first words said on the moon were "the Eagle has landed".