Timeline of the Space Race

This is a timeline of first achievements in spaceflight from the first intercontinental ballistic missile through the first multinational human-crewed mission—spanning the era of the Space Race. On July 31, 1956, the United States announced its intention to launch an artificial satellite during the International Geophysical Year (July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958). Two days later the Soviet Union announced its intention to do the same. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, beating the United States and stunning people all over the world. Both countries had various successes. The US landed astronauts on the Moon in 1969.

The first image of another celestial body returned from Space (Luna 3's image of the far side of the Moon)

1957–1960

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 dog in orbit (Laika)	Sputnik 2
January 31, 1958	First US satellite, 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 human-made object in heliocentric orbit	Luna 1
February 17, 1959	First weather satellite		Vanguard 2-NASA (NRL)^1
February 28, 1959	First satellite in a polar orbit		Discoverer 1-USAF/ARPA
June 25, 1959	First spy satellite to carry a camera (failed to achieve orbit)		Discoverer 4-USAF/ARPA
August 7, 1959	First photograph of Earth from orbit		Explorer 6-NASA
September 14, 1959	First impact into another celestial body (Moon)	Luna 2
October 7, 1959	First photos of far side of the Moon	Luna 3
April 1, 1960	First Imaging weather satellite		TIROS-1-NASA
August 11, 1960	First satellite recovered intact from orbit		Discoverer 13-USAF/ARPA
August 12, 1960	First passive communications satellite		Echo 1A-NASA
August 18, 1960	First successful recovery of film from an orbiting satellite First aerial recovery of an object returning from Earth orbit		Discoverer 14-USAF/ARPA
August 19, 1960	First animals and plants returned alive from space (Belka and Strelka)	Sputnik 5

¹Project Vanguard transferred from the NRL to NASA immediately before launch.

1961–1969

Date	Significance	Soviet Union Mission	US Mission
January 31, 1961	First Humanoid animal Ham (chimpanzee) in Space		Mercury-Redstone 2
February 12, 1961	First launch from Earth orbit of upper stage into a heliocentric orbit First mid-course corrections First spin-stabilisation	Venera 1
April 12, 1961	First human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin) First orbital flight of a manned vehicle	Vostok 1
May 5, 1961	First pilot-controlled space flight (Alan Shepard) First human space mission that landed with pilot still in spacecraft and thus the first complete human spaceflight by FAI definitions[1]		Freedom 7
May 19, 1961	First planetary flyby (Venus)	Venera 1
August 6, 1961	First crewed mission lasting a full day.	Vostok 2, Gherman Titov
March 7, 1962	First orbital solar observatory		OSO-1-NASA
April 26, 1962	First spacecraft to impact the far side of the Moon.[2]		Ranger 4-NASA
April 26, 1962	First artificial satellite in orbit made by a non-superpower (launched in orbit by US)	United Kingdom — Ariel 1
July 10, 1962	First active communications satellite		Telstar-AT&T
August 12, 1962	First dual crewed spaceflight First ship-to-ship radio contact and First simultaneous flight of crewed spacecraft	Vostok 3 / Vostok 4, Andriyan Nikolayev and Pavel Popovich
December 14, 1962	First planetary flyby by a US mission (Venus)		Mariner 2-NASA
June 16, 1963	First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova) First civilian in space	Vostok 6
June 19, 1963	Five-day human spaceflight record	Vostok 5
July 19, 1963	First reusable piloted spacecraft and the first spaceplane (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-person crew (3)	Voskhod 1
March 18, 1965	First extra-vehicular activity ("space walk")	Voskhod 2
March 23, 1965	First piloted spacecraft orbit change		Gemini 3-NASA
June 3, 1965	First space walk by an American		Gemini 4-NASA
July 14, 1965	First Mars flyby		Mariner 4-NASA
August 29, 1965	Eight-day human spaceflight record		Gemini 5-NASA
November 26, 1965	First artificial satellite launched by a non-superpower	France — Astérix
December 15, 1965	First orbital rendezvous (station-keeping, no docking)^2		Gemini 6A / Gemini 7-NASA
December 18, 1965	14-day human spaceflight 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 spacecraft docking		Gemini 8 / ATV-NASA
April 3, 1966	First artificial satellite to orbit another celestial body: the Moon	Luna 10
September 12, 1966	First direct-ascent rendezvous on first orbit Record highest apogee, 1,374 kilometers (854 mi), for piloted Earth orbit		Gemini 11/ATV-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 remote-controlled spacecraft	Cosmos 186/ Cosmos 188
September 14-21, 1968	First terrestrial life to leave Earth orbit, to travel to and circle the Moon, and the first Moon mission with lifeforms to return safely to Earth	Zond 5
December 7, 1968	First orbital ultraviolet observatory		OAO-2-NASA
December 21, 1968	First human-crewed spaceflight to, and orbit of, another celestial object: the Moon First human spaceflight to enter the gravitational influence of another celestial body		Apollo 8-NASA
January 16, 1969	First crew exchange in space First docking of two manned spacecraft	Soyuz 4 / Soyuz 5
July 20, 1969	First humans on the Moon First space launch from another celestial body		Apollo 11-NASA
November 19, 1969	First precisely targeted piloted landing on the Moon (Surveyor 3 site)		Apollo 12-NASA

² The Soviet Union had claimed 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.

1970–1975

Date	Significance	Soviet Union Mission	US Mission
April 14, 1970	First explosion on board a spacecraft, crew survived. (Jim Lovell, John Swigert, Fred Haise)		Apollo 13-NASA
September 24, 1970	First robotic automatic sample return from another celestial body: the Moon	Luna 16
November 23, 1970	First remote-controlled mobile vehicle on another celestial body: the 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 19, 1971	First human-crewed space station launched	Salyut 1
June 29, 1971	First human-crewed 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
August 5, 1971	First spacewalk in deep space		Apollo 15 NASA
November 14, 1971	First spacecraft to orbit 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 human-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
November 9, 1972	First commercially operated domestic satellite in geostationary orbit	Canada — Anik A1-Telesat
November 15, 1972	First orbital gamma ray observatory		SAS-2-NASA
May 25, 1973	28-day human-crewed space record		Skylab 2-NASA
July 28, 1973	56-day human-crewed space record		Skylab 3-NASA
November 16, 1973	84-day human-crewed space record		Skylab 4-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 human-crewed mission	Soyuz 19	Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

See also

• List of communications satellite firsts
• List of space exploration milestones, 1957–1969
• Timeline of space exploration
• Timeline of first orbital launches by country
• Timeline of space travel by nationality

References

1. "Geek Trivia: A leap of fakes". Retrieved August 18, 2016.
2. "Discussion". Space Policy. 14 (1): 6. February 1, 1998. doi:10.1016/S0265-9646(97)00038-6.

• 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 978-0-16-048909-9.
• Brugess, Colin; Kate Doolan; Bert Vis (2003). Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6212-6.
• Dallek, Robert (2003). An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-17238-7.
• Freni, Pamela (2002). Space for Women: A History of Women With the Right Stuff. Santa Ana, California: Seven Locks Press. ISBN 978-1-931643-12-2.
• Gainor, Chris (2001). Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books. ISBN 978-1-896522-83-8.
• Gatland, Kenneth (1976). Manned Spacecraft, Second Revision. New York, NY, USA: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-02-542820-1.
• Hall, Rex; David J. Shayler (2003). Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 978-1-85233-657-8.
• 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 978-0-471-14853-1.
• Harvey, Brian (2001). Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier?. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 978-1-85233-203-7.
• Seamans, Robert C., Jr. (April 5, 1967). "Findings, Determinations And Recommendations". Report of Apollo 204 Review Board. NASA History Office. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• Siddiqi, Asif A. (2003a). Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-2627-5.
• Siddiqi, Asif A. (2003b). The Soviet Space Race with Apollo. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-2628-2.
• Thompson, Neal (2004). Light This Candle : The Life & Times of Alan Shepard—America's First Spaceman. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-609-61001-5.
• Wolfe, Tom (2001) [1979]. The Right Stuff. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-613-91667-7.
• Yeager, Chuck; Leo Janos (1985). Yeager: An Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-05093-6.

External links

• Timeline of the Space Race/Moon Race
• Chronology: Moon Race at russianspaceweb.com