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The achromatic lens, by galileo which greatly reduced color aberrations in objective lenses and allowed for shorter and more functional telescopes,
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The Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space.
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Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit the Earth, is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until January 4, 1958.
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Sputnik 2, carrying the dog Laika for 7 days in orbit, is launched by the U.S.S.R., and remains in orbit until April 13, 1958.
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Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite in orbit, lifts off at Cape Canaveral using a modified ABMA-JPL Jupiter-C rocket. It carries a scientific experiment of James A. Van Allen, and discovers the Earth's radiation belt.
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Explorer 2 is launched by a Jupiter-C rocket, and fails to reach orbit.
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Vanguard 1 satellite is launched into orbit, and continues to transmit for 3 years.
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Luna 1, first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
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Vostok 6 carries Soviet Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova, the first woman in space and orbits the Earth 48 times.
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Astronomers find that our galaxy is smaller than they thought and the Sun is 23,000 light-years from it's center.
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Salyut 7 falls from orbit and burns up over Argentina.
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Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on a 12 day mission to the ISS. They install the first set of ISS's solar panels and radiators for removing heat.
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fifteen years after its first launch, and after nearly 10 years of continuous occupation by astronauts, the Mir space station is de-orbited, breaking up in the atmosphere and impacting in the Pacific Ocean.
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Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched carrying the Raffaello logistics module back to the ISS with new supplies.