Timeline of space exploration

By Me20105
  • First spotting of moon

    The first spotting of the moon through a telescope by Galileo Galilei.
  • First liquid fueled rocket

    First liquid fueled rocket
    Robert H. Goddard launched first liquid fueled rocket
  • German military liquid fueled rocket

    First German military liquid fueled rockers developed.
  • Soviet Union launches rocket

    Soviet launches first rocket of there own.
  • First research flight

    The first research flight launched by the United States captured by the V-2 space rocket.
  • First animals

    First animals launched into outer space, fruit flies, by the United States.
  • First artificial satellite

    The first artificial satellite was put into space that brought back signals to Earth launched by the USSR.
  • First dog in space

    First dog in space
    The first dog launched into orbit was named Laika launched by the USSR but didn't return back to Earth alive.
  • First ballistic missle

    The first ballistic missle produced by the USSR
  • Sputnik 1

    Sputnik 1
    Sputnik was the first satellite sent by Soviet Union to obit earth. When Sputnik was send out into space the Space Race began. The Space Race was between the Soviet Union and the United States. Sputnik helped scientist learn more about earth's atmosphere.
  • Explorer 1

    Explorer 1
    Explorer 1 was the first American satellites to orbit earth. It was sent up after the Soviet Union sent up Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2.
  • NASA Formed

    The National Areonautics and Space Administration was formed by the United States during the space race. It controls all missions and launches into space.
  • Discover 14 launched

    The discover 14 was the first satellite into space by coming off a moving spacecraft in orbit and then reattached in mid-air. This satellite was launched by the United States.
  • First (Russian) Man in Space

    First (Russian) Man in Space
    Yuri Gagarin was the first Russian man in space. He became Soviet hero and this advanced the Russians in the space race. He was on the Vostok 1 space craft.
  • First American in space

    After the Russians sent a man into space the United States sent Alan Shepard. He was on board small mercury capsule named Freedom 7.
  • First American Spacewalk

    Ed White was the first American to complete a spacewalk. He was sent on the mission Gemini 4. He was in space for 23 minutes and was over Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Luna 10

    Luna 10 was the first space craft to orbit the moon. It's orbit around the moon took 3 hours. After it went into orbit, the satellite separted but stayed close.
  • Soyuz 1

    Soyuz 1 was a manned spacecraft, it was the first of the Soyuz series. On the return back to Earth it had technical problems and crashed, causing the rider to die. It was the first fatal space flight.
  • Apollo 11

    Apollo 11
    Apollo 11 was the space shuttle that took men to the moon and got them home safely. This was a great achievement because this is the first thing in the space race that the United States had done before the Soviets.
  • Man on the moon

    Man on the moon
    Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on the Apollo 11.
  • First space shuttle launch

    The first manned mission of the Space Transportation System is launched. The mission was a mission the test out the spacecraft's systems.
  • First operational space shuttle mission

    The space shuttle Columbia started their fifth mission, the first operational space shuttle mission. The STS-5 launched with a four member crew on a five day mission.
  • Space shuttle challenger tragedy

    Space shuttle challenger tragedy
    The space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after the liftoff, resulting in the loss of the spacecraft and the seven member crew. The accident was especially tragic because of Christa McAuliffe. She was the first civilian to fly into space. She was a part of the Teacher in Space program, the shuttle exploded because of a faulty O-ring seal in one of god soild rocket boosters.
  • Mir station launched

    The first module of the Mir space station was successfully launched and placed into Earth's orbit. It stayed in orbit until 2001 when it came crashing down into the Pacific Ocean.
  • Launch of Hubble space telescope

    Launch of Hubble space telescope
    Space shuttle Discovery lifts off for mission STS-31, carrying the Edwin P. Hubble Space Telescope. The first time Hubble brought back picture they were fuzzy images. There would be a mission to come to go solve the problem. After the problem is fix Hubble will be the most powerful space telescope created.
  • First landing on an asteroid

    The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of the asteroid Eros. The spacecraft wasn't designed to land on an asteroid. The landing was a last minute idea. It was decided because the spacecraft was running out of fuel and was nearing the end of its mission.
  • Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

    The space shuttle Columbia broke apart in the atmosphere over Texas while returning to the Kentucky space center. The seven member crew was lost in the accident. A piece of foam from the fuel tank broke off during the launch.
  • Spirit Rover Lands on Mars

    Spirit Rover Lands on Mars
    After getting through the atmosphere of Mars and then bouncing to a stop using giant air bags. The rover landed in a location known as Gusev crater. The Spirit rover was only meant to last three months.
  • Opportunity Rover Lands on Mars

    The sister rover to Spirit, Opportunity landed on the opposite side of Mars in a location known as Meridiani Planum. Many new discoveries include layered rock formations the could have been formed in water and a tornado-like dust devils moving across the surface.
  • Final Flight of the Space Shuttle Program

    The space shuttle Atlantis became the last American space shuttle to be launched into space. A four member crew took much-needed supplies to the International Space Station. Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and officially ended the 30-year space shuttle program.