The Space Race

Space Race

Period: Jan 1, 1957 to Dec 31, 1972

The Launching of Sputnik 1

Oct 4, 1957

The USSR launches Sputnik 1 into space.

Explorer 1

Jan 31, 1958

Explorer 1 was the first American satelite that was launched to reach orbit. It carried scientic eqipment that led to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.

Luna 1 Is Launched

Jan 2, 1959

Luna 1 was lucnhed by the USSR. It was the first man made object to orbit the Sun.

First (Russian) Man In Space

Apr 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.

First (American) Man in Space

May 5, 1961

Soon after the Russians sent the first ever man in space, Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space.

First (Russian) Woman in Space

Jun 16, 1963

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first ever (Russian) woman to go into space.

First Spacewalk

Mar 18, 1965

Alexei Leonov was the first (Russian) man to perform the firs t ever spacewalk. He spent 12 minutes outside of his Voskhod performing the first spacewalk.

Luna 10

Apr 3, 1966

Luna 10 becomes the first satelite to orbit the moon.

Soyuz 1

Apr 23, 1967

Soyuz 1 was a manned spacecraft holding Vladimir Komarov. It was the first of the Siyuz series. On its return back to Earth, technical problems caused a crash and the death of Vladimir. It was the first fatal space flight.

First Moon Landing

Jun 20, 1969

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon, while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the moon alone.

Apollo 13

Apr 11, 1970

After Apollo 13 was launched, the sapce shuttle suffered an explosion SM oxygen tanks. Therefore, its mooon landing was aborted. But luckily the crew was able to return safely back to Earth.

Apollo 17 Returns from the moon

Dec 19, 1972