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First Animals in Space
Fruit flies become the first animals in space as a V-2 rocket is launched from the White Sands Proving Ground. Inside are several vials containing fruit flies, rye seeds, and cotton seeds. The flight reaches an altitude of 60 miles, and the payload is later retrieved intact. -
First Artificial Satellite
Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to circle the Earth, is launched by the U.S.S.R. -
First American Satellite
America launched its first satellite. Weighing only 30 pounds, Explorer 1 was launched into orbit by the Army on a Jupiter-C rocket. The satellite contained several scientific instruments. This mission discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth. -
NASA is born
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is founded, taking over the responsibilities of the existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. -
First Weather Satellite
Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the United States. Two television cameras in the satellite returned views of clouds above the Earth. Tiros 1 was only operational for 78 days, but proved that satellites could be useful tools for surveying weather conditions from space. -
First Man in Space
Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to venture into space. The Vostok 1 spacecraft made one complete orbit around Earth in 108 minutes, and reached altitudes of 112 to 203 miles. The flight lasted only one hour and 48 minutes. -
First U.S. Space Tradegy
During a routine test on the launch pad, a spark caused a fire to start in the crew compartment of the command module. Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, were killed in this tragic incident. It was later determined that faulty wiring caused the spark, and the pure oxygen environment in the capsule was to blame for the rapid spreading of the blaze. -
First Space Station
The Salyut 1 space station is launched by the U.S.S.R. It remains in orbit until May 28, 1973. -
First Women in Space
Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman to travel in space on Challenger mission STS-7. -
First Landing on an Asteroid
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is successfully landed on the surface of the asteroid Eros. NEAR sends back unprecedented images of the asteroid's surface during its hour-long descent. NEAR had been in orbit around Eros since February 14, 2000. It was never designed to land on the asteroid. The landing is a last minute idea to get some additional data as the spacecraft as it runs out of fuel and nears the end of its mission. -
100th U.S. Space Walk
U.S. astronauts Thomas Jones and Robert Curbeam Jr. make history as they perform the 100th space walk in the United States space program. The space walk is part of the installation procedure for the new Destiny module of the International Space Station. -
First Tourist in Space
American businessman Dennis Tito becomes the first tourist to fly into space. His 20 million dollar offer is rejected by the United States, but is later welcomed by the Russian space program. A Soyuz space capsule delivers the space tourist and the Russian crew to the International Space Station, where Tito is given limited access to the station.
