Astronomy Timeline

By BlakeH.
  • 1992 BCE

    First evidence of the Big Bang Theory

    The Big Bang Theory was created by Georges Lemaître. It was question whether God made the Universe or if there was a perfectly scientific answer to to how the Universe was made. The confirmation of gravitational waves would be the first direct evidence of the Big Bang theory.
  • Galileo creates the first telescope used to observe space

    Galileo creates the first telescope used to observe space
    Galileo's telescope was not the first ever made, throughout Europe there were different models of telescopes, but they could only magnify sight by only 3 times. The telescope made by Galileo was much better than these, and could magnify sight by 20 times. Using this telescope, Galileo was able to look at the moon, the satellites of Jupiter, observe a Supernova, verify the the phases of Venus, and discover sun spots.
  • Isaac builds the first reflecting telescope

    Isaac Newton's reflecting telescope solved the problem of color distortion of using lens. His telescope is also known as the Newtonian telescope, named after him. Today, the reflecting telescope is used by many ametaur astronomers today.
  • The first liquid fueled rocket is made

    The first liquid fueled rocket is made
    Before liquid fueled rockets there were solid fueled rockets, but the only problem with these is that they didn't have enough power to get into outer space, and that's why Robert H. Goddard created liquid fueled rockets. Liquid fueled rockets were much lighter, and had enough power to reach space. These rockets were the first to make it into space.
  • The first animal in outer space is a dog

    The first animal in outer space is a dog, and the dog's name was Laika. Laika was launched by the Soviet Union on the spacecraft, Sputnik 2. Unfortunately, Laika, the dog did not survive this trip.
  • The Soviet Union launches the first satellite, Sputnik, into space

    The Soviet Union launches the first satellite, Sputnik, into space
    The launching of Sputnik marks where the space race began. In diameter, Sputnik is 23 in. On January, 4 1958 Sputnik feel into the Earths atmosphere at 43.5 million miles per hour. Sputnik was only in space for a time of about 3 months.
  • The United States launches their first satellite, Explorer 1, into space

    The United States launches their first satellite, Explorer 1, into space
    This mission to send the first United States of American satellite was because of the Soviets launch of Sputnik. This is what officially led to the event of the Cold War Space Race between these two nations.
  • Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space

    Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space
    Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, his wife was the first woman ever in space as well. The spacecraft that Yuri traveled in to space was Vostok. When Yuri came back to Earth he was an international celebrity, won medals, and was received the highest honoring award.
  • Alexi Leonov became the first man to walk in space.

    Alexi Leonov opened the airlock of his tiny space capsule, which was orbiting the Earth, and stepped into the void. For 12 minutes, he floated above Earth, tethered to his ship by a 16ft cable. In doing so, Leonov became the first person to walk in space.
  • Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. walk on the moon

    Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. walk on the moon
    Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin Jr. were the first two men to walk on the Moon. Of the two people, Armstrong was the first of the two to walk on the moon. About 20 minutes after he stepped on the moon, Edwin joined in on this amazing astronomical event.
  • The U.S. launched its first space station, Skylab.

    Skylab was Earths first space station, and Skylab was up between 1973 to 1979. Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems needed for crew survival and scientific experiments. To transport astronauts to Skylab, there were a total of three manned expeditions to the station, conducted between May 1973 and February 1974.
  • Columbia became the first Space Shuttle to be launched

    Columbia became the first Space Shuttle to be launched
    It launched for the first time on mission -1 on April 12, 1981. With over 22 years of service it completed 27 missions.
  • The space shuttle, Discovery, launches the space telescope, Hubble, into space

    The space shuttle, Discovery, launches the space telescope, Hubble, into space
    The launching of Hubble was a great accomplishment for NASA, but it was costly, totaling up to about 2.5 billion USD. This telescope was named after a man named Edwin Hubble. Hubble has been used today to make extraordinary discoveries and observations through the time of astronomy.
  • International Space Station is launched into space

    The ISS is a station worked on by many other countries. And the current operators right now are NASA, JAXA, Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, and Roscosmos State Corporation. To make this station it costed 150 billion USD.
  • The crashing of the Columbia

    The crashing of the Columbia
    Sadly, once the Columbia began to fall into Earth's atmosphere the spacecraft disintegrated in the air, killing all 7 of the crew members on that ship. The seven people killed in this disaster, were Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik, Francis R. Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Mike J. Smith, and Ellison S. Onizuka.