Space Race

By jennashellman

  • First Satellite by USSR (and first orbit)

    First Satellite by USSR (and first orbit)
    The USSR were the first people to launch a satellite into space, it was called Sputnik.

  • First animal in space by USSR

    First animal in space by USSR
    The USSR launched a dog named Laika into space on Sputnik 2.

  • First Satellite by USA

    First Satellite by USA
    Explorer 1 was the first satellite to be launched by the USA, and was only 80 inches long.

  • Creation of NASA

    Creation of NASA
    NASA was created in an effort to beat the USSR in the Space Race.

  • First animal in space by USA

    First animal in space by USA
    The USA launched a chimpanzee named Ham into space to see how a human might be affected.

  • USSR launches first man into space

    USSR launches first man into space
    The USSR launched the first man into space, named Yuri Gagarin, beating the USA.

  • USA launches man into space

    USA launches man into space
    The USA launched Alan Shepherd into space shortly after the USSR did the same.

  • JFK Speech

    JFK Speech
    President Kennedy made a speech stating that the United States would make it to the moon by the end of the decade.

  • First orbit of Earth by USA

    First orbit of Earth by USA
    John Glenn was the first American man to orbit the earth, and he did so 3 times in the Friendship 7 capsule.

  • First EVA by USSR

    First EVA by USSR
    The USSR made the first ever EVA with Alexei Leonov on the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

  • First EVA by USA

    First EVA by USA
    Ed white did the first EVA for the United States on the Gemini 4 mission while flown by Jim McDivitt. He walked for 36 minutes.

  • First rendezvous by USA (Gemini 6 and 7)

    First rendezvous by USA (Gemini 6 and 7)
    Astronauts Schirra, Stafford, Borman, and Lovell conducted the first rendezvous between two spacecraft for the United States. They stayed within a few feet of each other for 5 hours and 19 minutes.

  • First time to link 2 spacecraft (Gemini 8)

    First time to link 2 spacecraft (Gemini 8)
    Gemini 8 crewed by Neil Armstrong and David Scott was the first to link two spacecraft together in orbit.

  • Longest space walk by USA (Gemini 9)

    Longest space walk by USA (Gemini 9)
    Rookie astronaut Buzz Aldrin conducted the longest spacewalk, lasting for 5 hours and 30 minutes while being flown by Jim Lovell.

  • Apollo 1 tragedy

    Apollo 1 tragedy
    A fire caught inside the Apollo 1 capsule, killing all 3 astronauts almost instantly. This put a slow on the missions for a while.

  • Apollo 7

    Apollo 7
    Qualified services to prepare for lunar orbit mission to follow. It was crewed by Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham.

  • Apollo 8

    Apollo 8
    First spacecraft to successfully orbit the moon. It was crewed by Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders.

  • Apollo 9

    Apollo 9
    Apollo 9 was the first crewed flight of the lunar module, and was flew by JIm McDivitt, David Scott, and Russell Schweickart.

  • Apollo 10

    Apollo 10
    Testing components for moon landing, it orbited the moon 31 times and was flown by Tom Stafford, John Young and Gene Cernan.

  • Apollo 11

    Apollo 11
    Apollo 11 was the first spacecraft to land on the moon, and was crewed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.