USSR launches Sputnik 2 which carried a small dog named Laika into orbit.
Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.
Explorer 2 is launced but it fails to reach orbit.
The Vanguard 1 satellite is launched. It continues to function for 3 years.
Sputnik 3 is launched.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed, it replaces the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA).
Pioneer 1 is launched to a height of 70,700 miles.
Luna 1 is launched by the USSR. It is the first man made object to orbit the Sun.
Pioneer 4 is launched on a Earth-Moon trajectory. It passed within 37,000 miles of the Moon before falling into a solar orbit.
The "Mercury Seven" astronauts are selected by NASA.
Luna 2 is launched. It impacts the Moon on September 13, becoming the first man-made object to do so.
Luna 3 orbits the Moon and photographs 70% of its surface.
Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched.
The US launches Discoverer XIV, its first camera equipped spy satellite.
John F. Kennedy is elected the 35th President of the United States.
Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.
Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.
President John F. Kennedy addresses Congress and challenges the nation to go to the Moon before the end of the decade.
Gus Grissom is launched on a sub-orbital flight. His Liberty-Bell capsule is lost when it fills with water and sinks after splashdown.
