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Sir Isaac Newton publishes the Philosophae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The Principia is considered by many to be one of the most important scientific works ever written.
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The British mathematician William Moore publishes Treatise on the Motion of Rockets. This work features the first exposition of rocket mechanics based on Newton's third law of motion.
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Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishes The Exploration of Cosmic Space. This is the first serious work to be published that shows space exploration to be theoretically possible.
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t is the first man-made object to achieve sub-orbital spaceflight, reaching an altitude of 100km (62 miles). U.S. Apollo programs.
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The U.S. military achieves its first high-altitude space flight using a rebuilt German V-2 rocket.
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America launched its first satellite. The satellite contained several scientific instruments. This mission discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth.
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is founded, taking over the responsibilities of the existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
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The Russian satellite Luna 1 is launched in an attempt to hit the Moon. The spacecraft misses the Moon and is flung out into space by the Moon's gravity. It becomes the first man-made object to achieve an orbit around the Sun.
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he Russian satellite Luna 2 is launched. On September 13, it becomes the first man-made object to hit the Moon. The spacecraft was sterilized to avoid contaminating the Moon with terrestrial bacteria.
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