Britain detonates hydrogen bomb; U.S. conducts first underground nuclear test
Successful Sputnik satellites mark the beginning of the "Space Race," with intensive efforts by both the U.S. and Soviet Union to achieve space milestones.
U.S. launches its first satellite, Explorer I; NASA established
Fidel Castro’s forces victorious in Cuban revolution
Soviet Union shoots down an American U-2 reconnaissance airplane over Soviet airspace and captures pilot Gary Powers, forcing U.S. to admit to aerial spying
President Kennedy establishes Peace Corps
Soviet missile bases detected in Cuba; President Kennedy demands their removal. The confrontation is the closest the U.S. and U.S.S.R. ever come to war. Crisis is resolved when Soviets agree to remove Cuban missiles in exchange for removal of U.S. missile
U.S., Soviet Union and Britain sign a nuclear test ban treaty
President Johnson declares "war on poverty," introduces a variety of federal welfare programs, including Medicare
The USSR launches Luna 10, which will become the first space probe to orbit the moon
US, USSR, UK sign treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
