The Space Race

USSR Launches Sputnik 1

Oct 4, 1957

This was the first artificial satellite and it orbited the Earth every 96 minutes. The Soviet launch of Sputnik began the Space Race.

USSR Launches Sputnik 2

Nov 3, 1957

This was the second spacecraft to orbit the Earth, but the first to carry an animal. Laika the dog provided scientists with data on a living organism in space.

Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 Attempt (U.S)

Dec 6, 1957

This was the United State's first attempt at launching a satellite into orbit around Earth. The Vanguard TV-3 exploded at launch and the satellite was damaged.

Explorer 1 Launch (U.S)

Jan 31, 1958

The Explorer 1 became the first United States satellite in orbit, it was also the first spacecraft to discover the Van Allen radiation belt.

NASA is founded (U.S)

Oct 1, 1958

The National Advisory Committee On Aeronomics. becomes NASA.

Pioneer 1 Launch (U.S)

Oct 11, 1958

Pioneer 1 was the first spacecraft launched by NASA. Pioneer did not reach the moon due to a programming error but did reach a maximum height of 71,100 miles.

Luna 1 Launched (USSR)

Jan 2, 1959

The Luna 1 was suppose to land on the moon but because of a slight programming error it was brought off-course. Due to this mistake Luna 1 became the world's first "artificial planet" as it was sent into heliocentric orbit. Luna 1 was renamed Mechta.

Launch of Vanguard 2 (U.S)

Feb 17, 1959

Vanguard 2 was the first weather satellite, designed to measure cloud cover and atmospheric density.

The US Launches Their First Spy Satellite- Discover 1

Feb 28, 1959

Discover 1 became the first satellite to be put into polar orbit. Primary goal was to watch over the Soviet Union (but it isn't until Discover 13 that film is recovered.)

U.S Launches Primates

May 28, 1959

On Jupiter AM-18 rode a rhesus monkey, Able, and South American squirrel monkey, Baker. Both monkeys survived the flight.

USSR's Luna 2 Landed on Moon

Sep 14, 1959

The Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the moon and the first man-made object to land on another celestial body

Launch of Luna 3 (USSR)

Oct 4, 1959

This satellite successfully took the first pictures of the far side of the moon.

Successful Recovery of Space Photographs from Corona Spy Satellite (U.S)

Aug 18, 1960

The Corona project was focused on especially after an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. These pictures made it possible to see what weapons the USSR did and did not have.

USSR Sends First Man Into Space

Apr 12, 1961

Soviet, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space aboard the Vostok 1. This flight also became the first time a man would orbit the Earth.

First American In Space (U.S)

May 5, 1961

Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7. This flight was also the first pilot controlled spaceflight.

President Kennedy announces goal to reach the moon

May 25, 1961

United States President, John F. Kennedy announces that an American will land on the moon and be returned safely to Earth before the end of the decade.

First US manned orbitial flight

Feb 20, 1962

Aboard the Mercury 6 John Glenn made the first American manned orbital flight.

USSR puts the first Woman in space

Jun 16, 1963

Aboard the Vostok 6, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. The mission was to collect data onto how a female's body would react to spaceflight.

Soviets Have First Multi-person Crew

Oct 12, 1964

Aboard the Voskhod 1, Vladimir Komarov, Konstantin Feoktistov, and Boris Yegorov became the first multi-person space crew. Due to the lack of room and weight capacity they were also the first crew to not wear spacesuits.

First Spacewalk (USSR)

Mar 18, 1965

Alexey Leonov became the first human to "spacewalk" on the Voskhod 2 mission. He was outside the aircraft for about 12 minutes.

Luna 12 (USSR)

Oct 25, 1966

This orbited the moon about 600 times and was equipped with a television system that sent close pictures of the moon's surface back to the Soviets.

Outerspace Treaty Open for Signiture: US, Soviet Union, UK

Jan 27, 1967

Treaty stated that weapons of mass destruction are not allowed in Earth orbit, on celestial bodies or in other outer-space locations, and that sovereign clams can not be made in space.

Venera 4 (USSR)

Oct 18, 1967

This was the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet.

USA Puts The First Man on the Moon

Jul 16, 1969

Apollo 11 landed the first two people on the moon. When Armstrong took his first step he said "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." This mission fulfilled a national goal set by Kennedy.

First Space Station (USSR)

Apr 19, 1971

The Soviets launched the first space station, Salyut 1. It was 66 feet long.

Only Known Human Deaths In Space (USSR)

Aug 30, 1971

This 3-member crew were the only mission to board the first space station. When the crew attempted to reenter the capsule it depressurized and ended in disaster.

American Spacestation

May 14, 1973

The Skylab was America's first and only spacestation. It orbited the Earth from 1973-1979 when it fell back to Earth and had to be reentered.

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

Jul 15, 1975

This was the first U.S and Soviet collaboration with spaceflight and it marked the end of the Space Race. The mission has both separate and joint experiments to conduct as well.