Timeline of firsts (1957-1975)
edit
| Date | Significance |  Soviet Union Mission
|
 US Mission
|
|---|---|---|---|
| August 21, 1957 | First intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) | R-7 Semyorka | |
| October 4, 1957 | First artificial satellite First signals from space |
Sputnik 1 | |
| November 3, 1957 | First animal in orbit (dog Laika) | Sputnik 2 | |
| January 31, 1958 | First detection of Van Allen radiation belts | Explorer 1-ABMA | |
| March 17, 1958 | First solar powered satellite | Vanguard 1-NRL | |
| December 18, 1958 | First communications satellite | Project SCORE-ABMA | |
| January 2, 1959 | First rocket engine restart in Earth orbit First lunar spacecraft First detection of solar wind |
Luna 1 | |
| January 4, 1959 | First man-made object in heliocentric orbit | Luna 1 | |
| February 17, 1959 | First weather satellite | Vanguard 2-NRL | |
| February 28, 1959 | First satellite in a polar orbit | Discoverer 1-DARPA | |
| August 7, 1959 | First photograph of Earth from orbit | Explorer 6-NASA | |
| September 13, 1959 | First impact into another celestial body (Moon) | Luna 2 | |
| October 4, 1959 | First photos of far side of the Moon | Luna 3 | |
| April 1, 1960 | First Imaging weather satellite | TIROS-1-NASA | |
| July 5, 1960 | First reconnaissance satellite | GRAB-1-NRL | |
| August 11, 1960 | First satellite recovered intact from orbit | Discoverer 13-USAF | |
| August 12, 1960 | First passive communications satellite | Echo 1A-NASA | |
| August 18, 1960 | First reconnaissance satellite | KH-1 9009-USAF | |
| August 19, 1960 | First animals and plants returned alive from space | Sputnik 5 | |
| 1961 | First launch from orbit First mid-course corrections First spin-stabilisation |
Venera 1 | |
| April 12, 1961 | First manned spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin) | Vostok 1 | |
| May 5, 1961 | First pilot-controlled space flight (Alan Shepard) | Freedom 7 | |
| March 7, 1962 | First orbital solar observatory | OSO-1-NASA | |
| August 12, 1962 | First simultaneous launch of two manned spacecraft First ship-to-ship radio contact |
Vostok 3 / Vostok 4 | |
| December 14, 1962 | First planetary flyby (Venus) | Mariner 2-NASA | |
| June 16, 1963 | First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova) First civilian in space |
Vostok 6 | |
| June 19, 1963 | Five-day manned space record | Vostok 5 | |
| July 19, 1963 | First reusable manned spacecraft (X-15, suborbital) | X-15 Flight 90-NASA | |
| July 26, 1963 | First geosynchronous satellite | Syncom 2-NASA | |
| December 5, 1963 | First satellite navigation system | NAVSAT-USN | |
| August 19, 1964 | First geostationary satellite | Syncom 3-NASA | |
| October 12, 1964 | First multi-man crew (3) | Voskhod 1 | |
| March 18, 1965 | First extra-vehicular activity ("space walk") | Voskhod 2 | |
| March 23, 1965 | First manned spacecraft orbit change | Gemini 3-NASA | |
| July 14, 1965 | First Mars flyby | Mariner 4-NASA | |
| August 29, 1965 | Eight-day manned space record | Gemini 5-NASA | |
| December 15, 1965 | First orbital rendezvous (station-keeping, no docking) | Gemini 6A / Gemini 7-NASA | |
| December 18, 1965 | 14-day manned space record | Gemini 7-NASA | |
| February 3, 1966 | First soft landing on another celestial body (Moon) First photos from another celestial body |
Luna 9 | |
| March 1, 1966 | First impact into another planet (Venus) | Venera 3 | |
| March 16, 1966 | First manned spacecraft docking | Gemini 8 / Agena target vehicle-NASA | |
| April 3, 1966 | First artificial satellite around the Moon | Luna 10 | |
| September 12, 1966 | First direct-ascent rendezvous on first orbit Record highest apogee (742 nmi) in manned Earth orbit |
Gemini 11/Agena target vehicle-NASA | |
| November 12–14, 1966 | First 5.5 hr extra-vehicular activity First demonstration of practical work capability |
Gemini 12-NASA | |
| October 30, 1967 | First docking of two unmanned spacecraft | Cosmos 186/ Cosmos 188 | |
| December 7, 1968 | First orbital ultraviolet observatory | OAO-2-NASA | |
| December 21, 1968 | First manned orbit of the Moon | Apollo 8-NASA | |
| January 16, 1969 | First crew exchange in space | Soyuz 4 / Soyuz 5 |
|
| July 21, 1969 | First humans on the Moon(Neil Armstrong) First space launch from another body |
Apollo 11-NASA | |
| November 19, 1969 | First precisely targeted manned landing on the Moon (Surveyor 3 site) | Apollo 12-NASA | |
| September 24, 1970 | First automatic sample return from the Moon | Luna 16 | |
| November 23, 1970 | First remote-controlled mobile vehicle on another body (Moon) | Lunokhod 1 | |
| December 12, 1970 | First X-ray orbital observatory | Uhuru (satellite)-NASA | |
| December 15, 1970 | First soft landing on another planet (Venus) First signals from another planet |
Venera 7 | |
| April 23, 1971 | First manned space station launched | Salyut 1 | |
| June 29, 1971 | First manned orbital observatory (Orion 1) 23-day manned space record |
Soyuz 11 / Salyut 1 | |
| July 31, 1971 | First mobile vehicle lunar rover driven by humans on the Moon | Apollo 15-NASA | |
| November 14, 1971 | First orbit around another planet (Mars) | Mariner 9-NASA | |
| November 27, 1971 | First impact into Mars | Mars 2 | |
| December 2, 1971 | First soft Mars landing First signals from Mars surface |
Mars 3 | |
| March 3, 1972 | First man-made object sent on escape trajectory away from the Sun | Pioneer 10-NASA | |
| July 15, 1972 | First mission to enter the asteroid belt and leave inner solar system | Pioneer 10-NASA | |
| 15 November 1972 | First orbital gamma ray observatory | SAS-2-NASA | |
| May 25, 1973 | 28-day manned space record | Skylab 1-NASA | |
| July 28, 1973 | 56-day manned space record | Skylab 2-NASA | |
| November 16, 1973 | 84-day manned space record | Skylab 3-NASA | |
| December 3, 1973 | First Jupiter flyby | Pioneer 10-NASA | |
| February 5, 1974 | First planetary gravitational assist (Venus flyby) | Mariner 10-NASA | |
| March 29, 1974 | First Mercury flyby | Mariner 10-NASA | |
| July 15, 1975 | First multinational manned mission | Soyuz 19 | Apollo-Soyuz Test Project |
References
edit- Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles. Washington: Scientific and Technical Information Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ISBN 0160489091.
- Brugess, Colin (2003). Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803262124.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Dallek, Robert (2003). An Finished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316172383.
- Freni, Pamela (2002). Space for Women: A History of Women With the Right Stuff. Santa Ana, California: Seven Locks Press. ISBN 1931643121.
- Gainor, Chris (2001). Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books. ISBN 1896522831.
- Gatland, Kenneth (1976). Manned Spacecraft, Second Revision. New York, NY, USA: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 100–101. ISBN 0025428209.
- Hall, Rex (2003). Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 1852336579.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Harford, James J. (1997). Korolev: How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon (1 ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0471148539.
- Harvey, Brian (2001). Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier?. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 1852332034.
- Seamans, Robert C., Jr. (1967-04-05). "Findings, Determinations And Recommendations". Report of Apollo 204 Review Board. NASA History Office. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Siddiqi, Asif A. (2003a). Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge. Gainsville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 081302627X.
- Siddiqi, Asif A. (2003b). The Soviet Space Race with Apollo. Gainsville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813026288.
- Thompson, Neal (2004). Light This Candle : The Life & Times of Alan Shepard—America's First Spaceman. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0609610015.
- Wolfe, Tom (1979/2001). The Right Stuff. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-613-91667-0.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - Yeager, Chuck (1985). Yeager: An Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0553050931.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)