#p <nat>American<o>physicist<n>Robert Goddard<b>1882 Oct 5<d>1945 Aug 10<c>Massachusetts
#e <t>inv<t>space<d>1926 Mar 16<n>liquid-fuel rocket<au>Goddard<info>Goddard fired the world's first successful liquid-propellant rocket. It was a simple pressure-fed rocket that burned gasoline and liquid oxygen. It traveled only 56 m, but it proved that the principle was valid.
#p <nat>German<o>engineer<n>Wernher von Braun<b>1912 Mar 23<d>1977<c>Germany<mov>1945<c>New Mexico<info>He is considered the father of the space age for his work in rocketry.
#e <t>inv<t>space<d>1942<n>V-2 rocket<au>von Braun<info>Germany develops the V-2 surface-to-surface rocket.
#e <t>theory<t>space<d>1945 Oct<n>geostationary satellites<c>U.S.<info>The concept of using a geostationary satellite as a repeater to aid communications was first proposed by Arthur C. Clarke in the October 1945 issue of Wireless World.
// Astronauts
#p <nat>American<o>astronaut<n>Neil Armstrong<b>1930 Aug 5<c>Ohio<mov>1962<c>Houston<mov>1971<c>Cincinnati<info>Neil Armstrong was selected as an astronaut in 1962. His first flight, in 1966, as commander of Gemini 8, was aborted by a thruster failure after 10 hrs 41 min. He was later assigned as commander of Apollo 11, the first U.S. attempt to land on the Moon. In 1986 he served as vice-chairman of the presidential commission appointed to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January, 1986.
#p <nat>Russian<o>cosmonaut<n>Yuri Gagarin<b>1934 Mar 9<d>1968 Mar 27<c>Moscow<info>Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was an airforce jet pilot who was chosen with the first group of Soviet cosmonauts in March 1960. On April 12, 1961, he was launched into orbit in the Vostok 1 spaceship, and orbited Earth once. After a series of triumphant world tours, Gagarin was assigned as training director of the brief women-cosmonaut program (1961-63) and later returned to flight status for the Soyuz program. He was killed in the crash of a MiG trainer jet in 1968.<ref>Grolier
// 50's
#e <t>launch<d>1957 Oct 4<n>Sputnik<c>U.S.S.R.
#e <t>launch<d>1957 Nov 3<n>Sputnik 2<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Sputnik 2 carried the dog Laika into orbit. She lived for 7 days.
#e <t>launch<d>1958 Jan 31<n>Explorer I<c>U.S.<info>This was the first American satellite.
#e <t>launch<d>1958 Mar 17<n>Vanguard I<c>U.S.<info>This was the second American satellite.
#e <t>space<d>1959 Jan 2<n>Luna I leaves earth-moon system<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Luna I was the first vehicle to leave the earth-moon system.
// 60's
#e <t>launch<d>1960 Apr 1<n>Tiros<c>U.S.<info>This was the first American weather satellite.
#e <t>space<d>1961 Apr 12<n>Yuri Gagarin orbits earth<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Yuri Gagarin orbits earth in Vostok 1. The flight lasts less than 2 hours.
#e <t>space<d>1961 May 5<n>first American in space<c>Cape Canaveral<info>Alan Sheppard becomes first American in space. His suborbital flight aboard Freedom 7 lasts 15 minutes, 28 seconds.
#e <t>space<d>1961 May 25<c>Houston<n>Kennedy speech<info>Kennedy vows to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade.
#e <t>launch<d>1961 Jun 29<n>Transit 4A<c>U.S.<info>This was the first satellite to carry a nuclear powerplant.
#e <t>space<d>1962 Feb 20<n>first American to orbit earth<c>Cape Canaveral<info>John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit earth. He completes 3 orbits, lasting 4 hours and 55 minutes, in the "Friendship 7" mission on Mercury 6.
#e <t>space<d>1963 Jun 16<n>first woman in space<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
#e <t>launch<d>1965<n>France's first satellite<c>France<info>France is the third country in space.
#e <t>space<d>1965 Mar 18<n>first space walk<c>U.S.S.R.<info>A cosmonaut (either LCol Aleksey Arkhipovich or Aleksei Leonov) takes the first space walk, a 10 minute tethered excursion outside Voskhod 2. He nearly dies when he gets stuck in the hatch.
#e <t>space<d>1965 Jun 3<n>first American space walk<c>U.S.<info>Edward White II is the first American to walk in space, floating outside Gemini 4 for 22 minutes. Ed White lost a glove into space; it re-entered within a month.
#e <t>landing<d>1966 Feb 3<n>Luna IX makes first soft landing on moon<c>U.S.S.R.
#e <t>landing<d>1966 Mar 1<n>Venus III makes first landing on another planet<c>U.S.S.R.
#e <t>space<d>1966 Mar 16<n>first orbital docking<c>U.S.<info>Gemini 8 makes first docking ever with another space vehicle, an unmanned Agena rocket stage. Gemini 8 later malfunctions, forcing America's first emergency landing.
#e <t>launch<d>1967<n>Saturn V<c>U.S.<info>America's largest rocket
#e <t>launch<d>1967<n>Australia's first satellite<c>Woomera<info>Australia is the fourth country in space.
#e <t>space<d>1967 Jan 27<n>fire in Apollo 1<c>Cape Canaveral<info>Fire in the Apollo 1 command module during a test at the launch pad at Cape Kennedy kills Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.
#e <t>space<d>1967 Apr 24<n>Soyuz 1 crashes<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Soyuz 1 crashes on re-entry, killing Vladimir Komarov. He is the first astronaut to die during a flight.
#e <t>film<d>1968 Apr 3<tit>2001: A Space Odyssey<c>U.S.<info>Stanley Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey" is released. It is based on Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Sentinel."
#e <t>launch<d>1968 Dec 21<n>Apollo 8<c>Cape Canaveral<info>This was the first manned mission to orbit the moon.
#e <t>landing<d>1969 Jul 20<n>first manned moon landing<c>U.S.<info>Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin land on the moon at the Sea of Tranquility.
#e <t>space<d>1969 Jul 20<n>first moon walk<c>U.S.<info>Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. Neil Armstrong says, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," as he takes his first steps on the moon.
#e <t>speech<d>1969 Jul 20<n>"That's one small step..."<c>U.S.<info>At 10:56:20 p.m. EDT, Neil Armstrong planted his left foot on the lunar surface and proclaimed: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." He later said that he intended to say "a," but tape static leaves this uncertain.
// 70's
#e <t>landing<d>1970<n>Venera 7 lands on Venus<c>U.S.S.R.
#e <t>space<d>1970 Apr 13<n>Apollo 13 aborted<c>U.S.<info>The Apollo 13 mission is aborted when an oxygen tank in the service module ruptures. 4 days later they return to earth safely.
#e <t>launch<d>1970 Apr 24<n>China's first satellite<c>China
#e <t>launch<d>1971 Apr 19<n>Salyut 1<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Salyut 1 was the first space station.
#e <t>space<d>1971 Jun 30<n>first crew of Salyut 1 perish<c>U.S.S.R.<info>The first crew of Salyut 1 perished on re-entry when their spacecraft depressurised.
#e <t>space<d>1972 Dec<n>Apollo 17<c>U.S.<info>The crew of Apollo 17 fly the last trip to the moon.
#e <t>launch<d>1973 May 14<n>Skylab 1<c>U.S.<info>Skylab 1 was the first American space station. The first of 3 crews arrived 11 days later for a 28-day stay.
#e <t>launch<d>1975<n>Aryabhata<c>India<info>India launched the Aryabhata scientific satellite on an Indian Intercosmos rocket. It was named for fifth-century Indian mathematician Aryabhata. It failed after four days and re-entered on February 11, 1992.
#e <t>space<d>1975 Jul 17<n>Apollo-Soyuz rendezvous<c>U.S.<info>This was the first international space mission.
#e <t>landing<d>1976 Jul 20<n>Viking 1 lands on Mars<c>U.S.<info>Viking 1 lands on Mars and transmits first pictures of the planet's surface.
#e <t>landing<d>1976 Sep<n>Viking 2 lands on Mars<c>U.S.
#e <t>space<d>1978 Jan 24<n>Kosmos 954 falls into Canada<c>Canada<info>A Soviet Kosmos satellite containing a nuclear reactor falls into the Canadian north.
#e <t>launch<d>1978 Feb 22<n>Navstar 1<c>U.S.
#e <t>fly-by<d>1979 Mar 5<n>Voyager 1 passes Jupiter<c>U.S.
#e <t>space<d>1979 Jul 11<n>Skylab re-enters<c>Australia<info>Skylab re-enters over southeastern Indian Ocean and western Australia.
// 80's
#e <t>launch<d>1981 Apr 12<n>Columbia<c>KSC<info>This is the first flight of the shuttle.
#e <t>fly-by<d>1981 Aug 25<n>Voyager 2 passes Saturn<c>U.S.
#e <t>space<d>1981 Sep(3)<n>first Canadarm mission<c>KSC<info>The Canadarm went on its first mission aboard the shuttle in 1981.
#e <t>launch<d>1982 Oct 12<n>Glonass 1<c>Soviet Union
#e <t>space<d>1983<n>Canadian Astronaut Program formed<c>Canada
#e <t>space<d>1983 Jun 18<n>first American woman in space<c>KSC<info>Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
#e <t>space<d>1984 Feb 7<n>first untethered space walks<c>KSC<info>The first untethered space walks were made by Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart.
#e <t>space<d>1984 Apr 10<e>1984 Apr 12<n>first orbital retrieval<c>KSC<info>The first orbital retrieval and repair mission was made by the shuttle Challenger's crew on the Solar Max satellite.
#e <t>fly-by<d>1986 Jan 24<n>Voyager 2 passes Uranus<c>U.S.
#e <t>space<d>1986 Jan 28<n>Challenger explodes<c>KSC<info>Challenger explodes 73 seconds after lift-off, killing all 7 aboard, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.
#e <t>launch<d>1986 Feb 20<n>Mir Base Block<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Mir was designed to last 5 years
#e <t>launch<d>1987<n>Kvant 1 module<c>U.S.S.R.<info>one of Mir's modules
#e <t>space<d>1987 Feb 8<n>Mir inhabited<c>U.S.S.R.<info>Mir becomes the first continuously inhabited space station.
#e <t>launch<d>1988 Sep 29<n>first shuttle flight after Challenger disaster<c>KSC<info>This was the first shuttle launch after the Challenger explosion.
#e <t>launch<d>1989<n>Kvant 2 module<c>U.S.S.R.<info>one of Mir's modules
#e <t>space<d>1989 May 4<n>first launch from the shuttle<c>KSC<info>The first launch of a spacecraft from the shuttle was made by Atlantis astronauts, who launched the Magellan probe to Venus.
#e <t>fly-by<d>1989 Aug 25<n>Voyager 2 passes Neptune<c>U.S.
// 90's
#e <t>launch<d>1990<n>Kristall module<c>U.S.S.R.<info>one of Mir's modules
#e <t>launch<d>1990 Apr 24<n>Hubble Space Telescope<aka>HST<c>KSC
#e <t>space<d>1990 Apr 25<n>HST placed into orbit<c>KSC<info>Astronauts on Discovery place the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. It is discovered soon after that there is a flaw in its mirror's design.
#e <t>fly-by<d>1990 Aug 10<n>Magellan reaches Venus<c>U.S.<info>Magellan probe enters orbit around Venus.
#e <t>space<d>1993 Dec 4<e>1993 Dec 10<n>HST repaired<c>KSC<info>Astronauts capture the Hubble Space Telescope and repair its optics.
#e <t>space<d>1994 Feb 3<n>first Russian on a U.S. spacecraft<c>KSC<info>Sergei Krikalev becomes the first Russian to fly on an American spacecraft.
#e <t>space<d>1994 Jan 9(1)<e>1995 Mar 22<n>record 437 day stay in space<c>Russia<info>Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov set a record 437 days in space.
#e <t>launch<d>1995<n>Spektr module<c>Russia<info>one of Mir's modules
#e <t>space<d>1995 Jun 29<n>Atlantis docks with Mir<info>On America's 100th manned mission, Atlantis docked with Mir.
#e <t>fly-by<d>1995 Dec 7<n>Galileo reaches Jupiter<c>U.S.<info>Galileo probe reaches Jupiter after a 6-year journey.
#e <t>space<d>1996 Mar 22<e>1996 Sep 26<n>Shannon Lucid in space<info>Shannon Lucid took off on STS-76, docking 3 days later with Mir. She returned on shuttle Atlantis. Her 188 days in space is an American record that still stands (as of 1998).
#e <t>launch<d>1996 Jun(2)<n>Priroda module<c>Russia<info>one of Mir's modules
#e <t>space<d>1996 Jun 3<n>Pegasus explodes<info>Pegasus upper stage rocket explodes
#e <t>space<d>1997 Feb 23<n>fire on Mir<info>A solid-fuel oxygen generator catches fire and burns for 14 minutes.
#e <t>space<d>1997 Jun 25<n>Progress collides with Mir<info>Progress supply ship collides with Mir.
#e <t>landing<d>1997 Jul 4<n>Sojourner lands on Mars<c>U.S.<info>Sojourner rover lands on Mars as part of Pathfinder mission. It transmits for 83 days.
#e <t>space<d>1997 Oct 14 <n>imaging of Antarctica complete<c>Antarctica<info>Radar images taken by RADARSAT are the first high-resolution imaging of Antarctica.
#e <t>launch<d>1997 Oct 15<n>Cassini<c>U.S.<info>Cassini probe heads to Saturn. The launch of its nuclear power supply is controversial.
#e <t>space<d>1998 Oct 29<n>John Glenn's second space flight<c>KSC<info>John Glenn goes to space a second time, aboard Discovery. He is now a 77-year old senator.
#e <t>launch<d>1998 Nov 20<n>Zarya<c>Baikonur, Kazakhstan<info>This is the first module of the International Space Station. Zarya means "Sunrise" in Russian.
#e <t>space<d>1998 Dec 3(1)<e>1998 Dec 15(1)<n>Endeavor<c>KSC<info>Endeavor was launched on a 12-day mission to orbit the second module to the International Space Station. The crew made the first connection of two modules on the station.
#e <t>space<d>1998 Dec 6<e>1998 Dec 12<n>Unity module connected<c>KSC<info>The first connection of two modules was made to the space station when the Unity node was connected to the Russian-built Zarya service module.
#e <t>launch<d>1999 Jan 3<n>Mars Polar Explorer<c>Cape Canaveral