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USSR launches Sputnik
The USSR became the first country to launch a man-made object into space with the satellite Sputnik 1. The satellite would simply send a radio signal back but would inspire the United States to send a satellite of their own due to fear of the USSR's nuclear capability. It is this event that would start the space race -
First animal sent into space
The first animal sent into space was a USSR stray dog named Laika. Laika was sent into space while aboard Sputnik 2, being sent into low orbit. Laika was never expected to survive the mission as scientists had not figured out how to land the spacecraft, and Laika would die of overheating four hours into the flight. -
First United States satellite sent into space
After many trials and errors, the United States launched the Explorer 1 satellite into orbit while carrying scientific instruments. -
Creation of NASA
As a means of focusing on more technological research, the United States created NASA, as a way of competing with the USSR. -
First animal sent to space by the United States
Ham the Chimp, was a chimpanzee who would be sent into a sub-orbital flight as a part of the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission. Ham had been chosen for the mission due to his similarities to a human structure. -
First man to be sent into space
The USSR claimed the title of being the first country to send a man into space when it sent Yuri Gagarin, into space as a part of the Vostok 1 mission. Gagarin would orbit the Earth for 108 minutes while traveling nearly 27,500 kilometers per hour. -
First person from the United States sent into space
Shortly after the USSR sent a man into space, the United States sent a man of their own Alan B. Shepard, during a suborbital flight on the Mercury capsule named Freedom 7. -
JFK´s speech on getting to the moon
As the United States dragged behind the USSR, President John F. Kennedy pushed for NASA to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, rallying the people behind such a goal with his ¨We Choose the Moon¨ speech. -
First man to orbit the Earth from the United States
John Glenn would be the first person to orbit the Earth for the United States, following the Mercury 7 mission. -
Gemini 1 mission
The Gemini 1 mission was an uncrewed test flight to test the Gemini spacecraft. The flight turned out to be successful and would orbit the Earth 64 times before getting atmospheric decay. -
Gemini 2
The Gemini 2 mission was used to test spacecraft reentry following a sub-orbital ballistic flight. -
First man to do an EVA
Alexei Leonov would be the first man to perform a spacewalk during Voskhod 2, being in space for 12 minutes. -
Gemini 3
The Gemini 3 mission was the first man-crewed mission, with two Americans being sent into space. Astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young would fly the low Earth orbits. -
First man to do a EVA for the United States
Ed White would be the first American to perform a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. During the Gemini 4 mission, White would use an oxygen gun to help him maneuver in the vacuum of space. -
Original Gemini 9A crew
The Gemini 9A flight was the 9th crewed space flight conducted under the Gemini program. The mission was originally supposed to be piloted by Eliot See and Charles Basset, however, both would die when crashing while flying a T-38 jet trainer. -
Apollo 1 crew
The Apollo 1 mission was planned to be the first manned mission under the Apollo program, to serve as a low orbital test or the Apollo command and service module. The mission would never come to fruition as a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal as pilots Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee would die in the resulting fire. -
Apollo 7
The Apollo 7 mission was the first crewed space flight conducted by NASA since the Apollo 1 incident, which killed three astronauts. The mission was piloted by Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and Walter Cunningham. The mission would also be the first to televise the crew while they were in space. -
Apollo 8
The Apollo 8 mission would be the first space flight to leave low Earth orbit, and the first human space flight to reach the Moon. Pilots Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders would be the first humans to see the moon's dark side and see an Earthrise. The Apollo 8 would orbit the Moon ten times without landing and safely return to Earth. -
Apollo 9
The Apollo 9 mission would be a low Earth orbit flight which was the first to use the full Apollo spacecraft. The flight would be piloted by James McDivitt, David Scott, and Rusty Schweickart, and served to test systems and procedures critical to landing on the Moon. -
Apollo 10
The Apollo 10 mission served as a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 mission which would have astronauts land on the moon. The mission was piloted by John Young, Thomas Stafford, and Gene Cernan. -
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 mission was the first to launch a manned crew into space, land on the Moon, and safely return to Earth. The mission was piloted by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.