Space Timeline By bjmiller151 Oct 1, 1957 Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space. Apr 12, 1961 Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space. Feb 3, 1966 Russian spacecraft Luna 9 was the first space craft to land on the moon. Jul 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Jul 30, 1971 The moon was driven on the moon for the first time. May 14, 1973 The United States launched their first space station. Aug 20, 1977 Voyager 2 was launched to explore Saturn. Sep 5, 1977 Voyager 1 was launched to explore Saturn. Aug 4, 2007 NASA launched its phoenix Mars lander. May 25, 2008 Mars launcher reaches Mars and starts transmitting images.