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First shuttle to reach 100km from earth's surface
In 1942 the German V2 was the first rocket to reach 100km from the Earth’s surface (the boundary of space).
The rocket was designed by Wernher Von Braun, who later worked with NASA as the creator of the rockets that went to the moon. -
First Monkey in space
Albert II, was the first monkey in space. He was a Rhesus monkey, a type of monkey that originally comes from Asia. Albert went into space on 14th June, 1949 in a specially adapted American V2 rocket, that flew to a height of 83 miles from earth. -
First satellite to be launched
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First Animal to orbit the earth
In November 1957, the Russian space dog Laika became the first animal to orbit the earth. Laika travelled in a spacecraft known as Sputnik 2. Laika means "Barker" in Russian, and her mission helped scientists understand whether people could survive in space. -
First man in space
On 12th April 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Gagarin's spacecraft, Vostok 1, completed one orbit of the earth, and landed about two hours after launch. Gagarin had to bail out and land using his parachute, because the Vostok 1 was designed to crash land! -
First woman in space
The first woman in space was Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. After her 1963 mission, Valentina became an important member of the Russian Government, and has been awarded many honours and prizes for her achievements. A crater on the far side of the Moon is named after her! -
Robot to land on the moon
In 1963 US President John F. Kennedy promised the world that the US would land men on the moon before 1970. Before risking any chances, NASA sent a robot spaceship, to make sure they could land safely. It was called Surveyor 1, and it made the second soft landing on the Moon on 30th May 1966, a few months after Russian probe Luna 9 landed successfully. -
Apollo 13
Two days into its journey to the moon, on 13th April 1970, Apollo 13 suffered an explosion caused by a wiring fault. Using only whatever was on board, NASA scientists and the astronauts on board improvised repairs to bring the crippled spaceship home. The mission was a successful failure: although the crew never walked on the moon at least they made it home alive! -
First Space shuttle launch