space race By asum 1957 Sputnik earth's artificial satellite. 1957 Sputnik 2 First spacecraft to carry a living organism.it carried a dog. 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space (1961). Apr 12, 1961 1 1969 Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. 19,961 Then in 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth