Timeline of the Space Race

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The Space Race was an informal competition between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975. It involved the parallel efforts by each of those countries to explore outer space with artificial satellites, to send humans into space, and to land people on the Moon. Here is a timeline of key events in the Space Race.

BIG turd

Date Significance Country Mission Name
August 21, 1957 Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) USSR R-7 Semyorka SS-6 Sapwood
October 4, 1957 First artificial satellite USSR Sputnik 1
November 3, 1957 First animal in orbit (dog) USSR Sputnik 2
January 31, 1958 First US satellite; detection of Van Allen belts USA-ABMA Explorer I
December 18, 1958 First communications satellite USA-ABMA Project SCORE
January 4, 1959 Artificial satellite (Sun's) USSR Luna 1
February 17, 1959 Weather satellite USA-NASA (NRL)1 Vanguard 2
June 1959 Reconnaissance satellite USA-Air Force Discoverer 4
August 7, 1959 Photo of Earth from space USA-NASA Explorer 6
September 14, 1959 Probe to Moon USSR Luna 2
October 7, 1959 Photo of the far side of the Moon USSR Luna 3
April 12, 1961 Human in orbit USSR Vostok 1
July 10, 1962 First active communications satellite USA-AT&T Telstar
September 29, 1962 Artificial satellite by a non-superpower Canada Alouette 1
June 16, 1963 Woman in orbit USSR Vostok 6
March 18, 1965 Extra-vehicular activity USSR Voskhod 2
December 15, 1965 Orbital rendezvous2 USA-NASA Gemini 6A/Gemini 7
March 1, 1966 Probe lands on another planet - Venus USSR Venera 3
March 16, 1966 In-orbit rendezvous and docking USA-NASA Gemini 8
December 24, 1968 Manned Lunar orbit USA-NASA Apollo 8
July 20, 1969 Human on the Moon USA-NASA Apollo 11
April 23, 1971 Space station USSR Salyut 1
November 14, 1971 Satellite orbits another planet - Mars USA-NASA Mariner 9
November 9, 1972 Geostationary communications satellite Canada-BCE Anik A1
July 15, 1975 First U.S.-USSR joint mission USSR USA-NASA Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

1Project Vanguard transferred from the NRL to NASA immediately before launch.
2 The Soviet Union had attempted an earlier rendezvous on August 12, 1962. However, Vostok 3 and Vostok 4 only came within five kilometers of one another, and operated in different orbital planes. Pravda did not mention this information, but indicated that a rendezvous had taken place.

[edit] See also


 v • d • e 
Space Exploration Lists and Timelines

Timeline of spaceflight • List of human spaceflight programs • List of human spaceflights • List of space travelers • List of astronauts by name •  List of astronauts by selection • Timeline of astronauts by nationality • List of Apollo astronauts • List of NASA missions • List of spacewalks and moonwalks • List of Space Shuttle missions • Timeline of Space Shuttle missions • Space Shuttle crews • List of Mir Expeditions • List of Mir visiting spacecrafts and crews • List of Mir spacewalks • List of manned spaceflights to the ISS • List of ISS Expeditions • List of ISS visitors • List of ISS spacewalks • List of unmanned spaceflights to the ISS • List of Chinese spaceflights• List of Constellation missions

Landings on other planets • List of planetary probes • Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes • List of objects at Lagrangian points • List of artificial objects on extra-terrestrial surfaces • List of artificial objects on the Moon • List of artificial objects on Venus • List of artificial objects on Mars • Timeline of Earth science satellites • List of Earth observation satellites

List of space exploration milestones, 1957-1969 • Space firsts • Spaceflight records • Timeline of first orbital launches by nationality • Timeline of Solar System exploration • Timeline of the Space Race

List of manned spacecraft • List of unmanned spacecraft by program • List of spacecraft • List of launch vehicles • Timeline of rocket and missile technology • List of space agencies • List of private spaceflight companies


[edit] References

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