Space Race TP5

By paytad23

  • The Soviet Union launches the first article satellite.

    The Soviet Union launches the first article satellite. Called Sputnik, a combination of words meaning "fellow-traveler of Earth," it weighs about 184 pounds. Sputnik circles the globe beeping radio signals, demonstrating that the Soviets have rockets that could send warheads anywhere on Earth. This event triggers the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

  • USSR launches Sputnik 2.

    USSR launches Sputnik 2 which carried a small dog named Laika into orbit.

  • Explorer 1 is launched.

    Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried scientific equipment that led to the Van Allen radiation belt.

  • Sputnik 3 is launched.

    Sputnik 3 is launched.

  • The U.S. launches the first primates in space.

    The United States launches the first primates in space, Able and Baker, on a suborbital flight.

  • Vanguard 1 satellite is launched.

    Vanguard 1 satellite is launched. It continues to function for 3 years.

  • NASA was founded.

    NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan publicly announces NASA's manned spaceflight program along with the formation of the Space Task Group, a panel of scientist and engineers from space-policy organizations absorbed by NASA. The announcment came just six days after NASA was founded.

  • Luna 1 is launched.

    Luna 1 is launched by USSR. It is the first man made object to orbit the sun.

  • Pioneer 4 is launched.

    Pioneer 4 is launched on a Earth-Moon trajectory. It passed within 37,000 miles of the Moon before falling into a solar orbit.