Timeline of Manned Spacecraft and Missions

By Plmok12345

  • First Human Spaceflight

    The Soviet Union's Vostok I carries Yuri Gagarin into a 108 minute rotation of the Earth, the first human flight into space.

  • First American in Space

    Alan Shepard is the first American in space, launched up in Freedom 7.

  • X-15 Flight

    X-15 Flight
    The X=15 high-speed rocket plane qualifies pilots for the astronaut license.

  • First Woman in Space

    First Woman in Space
    Valentina Tereshkova, aboard Vostok 6, becames the first woman in space.

  • Deadly Apollo I Fire

    Deadly Apollo I Fire
    Apollo I's crew is killed when starts erupts in their capsule during testing.

  • Apollo 8-First Flight Around Moon

    Apollo 8-First Flight Around Moon
    Apollo 8, the first manned mission around the moon, holds a live broadcast from space.

  • Saturn V Launch for the Moon

    Saturn V clears the launch pad and starts on a historic journey towards the moon, carrying Apollo II.

  • Apollo 13 Avoids Disaster

    The Apollo 13 crew survives an in-space explosion, barely having enough food to sustain themselves.

  • Challenger Leaves the Moon After Moonwalk

    Challenger Leaves the Moon After Moonwalk
    The Apollo 17 lunar module, Challenger, lifts off from the moon.

  • First Space Station

    First Space Station
    The Soviet Union's Salyut 7, viewed in this photo after the docking of the Soyuz T-13 mission, is the last in a series of Salyut space stations.

  • Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

    Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
    Saturn IB lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying three astronauts to a rendevous with the Soviet station.

  • Columbia's First Launch

    Columbia's First Launch
    Space shuttle Columbia lifts off, beggining a new era in space transportation.

  • Columbia Makes First "Touchdown" Landing

    Columbia Makes First "Touchdown" Landing
    The space shuttle Columbia replaces "touchdown" for "splashdown", making the first wheeled landing.

  • Challenger Lost

    Challenger Lost
    Due to a ruptured O-ring in the right SRB, Challenger and her crew are lost in an explosion soon after launch.

  • Columbia Lost

    Columbia Lost
    The Challenger and its crew is lost as it returns to Earth on mission STS-107.

  • Chinese Shenzhou 5 is Launched

    Chinese Shenzhou 5 is Launched
    China's Shenzhou space capsule, the first Chinese manned spacecraft, makes 9 orbits of the Earth with Yang Liwei aboard.

  • First Private Spacecraft

    SpaceSipOne is the first privately designed and built spacecraft.

  • STS-135 Mission

    STS-135 Mission
    The Atlantis' STS-135 mission, in the summer of 2011, is the final planned mission for this year.