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The Soviet satellite "Sputnik 1" is the first object sent into space and to successfully orbit the Earth.
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The first US satellite to orbit the Earth- "Explorer 1" -is launched.
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NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is formed.
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The first "Earthling", a soviet dog named Laika, is successfully sent into space.
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Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space. (he orbits the Earth)
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Alan Shepard becomes the first US citizen in space
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Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first US citizen to orbit the earth.
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Apollo 11 crew member Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon. His fellow crew member Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin is right behind him, making him the second man to walk on the moon.
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Voyager II, the first space probe to fly by the four gas giant gas planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune- is launched.
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Voyager II flies by Neptune.
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Voyager II, the first probe to fly by the four gas giant planets, passes Jupiter.
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The first American space shuttle is launched. This is the first "re-usable" soace craft in history.
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Voyager II goes by Saturn.
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Voyager II goes passed Uranus.
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The space Challenger explodes shortly after take-off, killing all of its crew members including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.
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The Hubble Space Telescope is launched into orbit around Earth.
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The un-manned American space probe "Pathfinder" lands on mars and begins it's successful exploration of the planet.
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Human habitation in the International Space System begins.
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The space shuttle Columbia explodes upon re-entry into the Earth's atmoshpere.
