Timeline of space exploration

This is for a timeline of space exploration including notable achievements and first accomplishments in humanity's exploration of outer space.

Before 1959

Date Event leading to space exploration Country Researcher(s)
1610 First telescopic observation of the night sky: Discovery of Jupiter's moons, lunar craters and the phases of Venus. Republic of Venice Galileo Galilei
1687 Publication of the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica England Sir Isaac Newton
1813 First exposition of the rocket equation based on Newton's third law of motion: Treatise on the Motion of Rockets UK William Moore
1840 First clear telescopic photograph of another world: The Moon. United States John William Draper
1865 From the Earth to the Moon published. France Jules Verne
1898 The War of the Worlds published. This inspired Robert Goddard to investigate rocketry. UK H. G. Wells
1903 Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne, first serious work published that showed physical space exploration was theoretically possible: Исследование мировых пространств реактивными приборами (The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices) Russia Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
1914 Goddard files for and is subsequently awarded U.S. patents on multistage and liquid-fueled rockets United States Robert H. Goddard
1919 Goddard's widely influential paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" discussed solid- and liquid-fueled rocketry United States Robert H. Goddard
15 December 1923 Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen ("By Rocket into Planetary Space") self-published after its rejection as a doctoral thesis. Germany Hermann Oberth
1924 Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel founded in Soviet Union Soviet Union members include Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Friedrich Zander, Yuri Kondratyuk
16 March 1926 Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket United States Robert H. Goddard
1927 Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) formed; it includes many top European rocket scientists. Germany  
1927 "The Conquest of Interplanetary Space" discusses rocket mechanics and orbital effects including the gravitational slingshot Soviet Union Yuri Kondratyuk
1928 Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums – der Raketen-Motor (The Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor) discusses space travel and its potential uses for scientific experiments. Austria Herman Potočnik
1929 Oberth, with students including Wernher von Braun, launches his first liquid-fueled rocket Germany Hermann Oberth
1931 First German military liquid-fueled rocket engines developed Germany Walter Riedel
1933 Work begins on the Aggregate series of rockets which leads to the V-2 rocket. Germany Wernher von Braun
17 August 1933 Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD) launches the first Soviet liquid-fueled rocket Soviet Union Sergey Korolev (group leader), Friedrich Zander (designer)
1935 Graduate student Frank Malina under his professor Theodore von Kármán begins work on a sounding rocket United States Frank Malina
3 October 1942 First vehicle to cross the Kármán line (100 km/~62 mi above the Earth's surface) and thereby enter outer space[1] Germany V-2 rocket, military program
10 May 1946 First space research flight (cosmic radiation experiments) United States captured and improved V-2 rocket
22 May 1946 First U.S.-designed rocket to reach edge of space (80 km (49 mi)) United States WAC Corporal
24 October 1946 First pictures of Earth from 105 km (65 mi) [1][2] United States V-2
20 February 1947 First animals in space (fruit flies) [1] United States V-2

1957–1959

Date Mission Achievements Country/Organization Mission Name
21 August 1957 First intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) USSR R-7 Semyorka/SS-6 Sapwood
4 October 1957 First artificial satellite
First signals from space		 USSR Sputnik 1
3 November 1957 First animal in orbit, the dog Laika USSR Sputnik 2
31 January 1958 Confirmed the existence of the Van Allen belts USA (ABMA) Explorer 1
2 January 1959 First firing of a rocket in Earth orbit
First reaching Earth escape velocity or Trans Lunar Injection
First detection of solar wind 		USSR Luna 1
4 January 1959 First artificial satellite to reach the Moon vicinity and first artificial satellite in heliocentric orbit USSR Luna 1
7 August 1959 First photograph of Earth from orbit USA (NASA) Explorer 6
13 September 1959 First impact into another world (the Moon)
First delivery of national (USSR) pennants to a celestial body		 USSR Luna 2
4 October 1959 First photos of another world from space: The far side of the Moon USSR Luna 3

1960–1969

Date Mission Success Country/Organization Mission Name
19 August 1960 First plants and animals to return alive from Earth orbit USSR Sputnik 5
31 January 1961 First Hominidae in space, first tasks performed in space; Ham (chimpanzee). USA (NASA) M-R 2
12 February 1961 First launch from Earth orbit of upper stage into a heliocentric orbit
First mid-course corrections
First spin-stabilisation		 USSR Venera 1
12 April 1961 First human spaceflight–(Yuri Gagarin)
First human-crewed orbital flight		 USSR Vostok 1
5 May 1961 First human-piloted space flight–(Alan Shepard)
First human-crewed suborbital flight		 USA Freedom 7
19 May 1961 First planetary flyby (within 100,000 km of Venus - no data returned) USSR Venera 1
7 March 1962 First orbital solar observatory USA (NASA) OSO-1
14 December 1962 First successful planetary flyby (Venus closest approach 34,773 kilometers) USA (NASA) Mariner 2
16 June 1963 First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova) USSR Vostok 6
19 July 1963 First reusable crewed spacecraft (suborbital) USA (NASA) X-15 Flight 90
18 March 1965 First extra-vehicular activity-(Alexei Leonov) USSR Voskhod 2
14 July 1965 First Mars flyby (closest approach 9,846 kilometers) USA (NASA) Mariner 4
14 July 1965 First close-up photographs of another planet: Mars USA (NASA) Mariner 4
15 December 1965 First orbital rendezvous (parallel flight, no docking) USA (NASA) Gemini 6A/Gemini 7
3 February 1966 First soft landing on another world (the Moon)
First photos from another world		 USSR Luna 9
1 March 1966 First impact into another planet (Venus) USSR Venera 3
16 March 1966 First orbital docking between two spacecraft USA (NASA) Gemini 8/Agena target vehicle
3 April 1966 First artificial satellite around another world (the Moon) USSR Luna 10
2 June 1966 Soft landing on the Moon,
photos from the Moon		 USA (NASA) Surveyor 1
30 October 1967 First automated (crewless) docking USSR Cosmos 186/Cosmos 188
7 December 1968 First orbital ultraviolet observatory USA (NASA) OAO-2
21 December 1968 First piloted orbital mission of another celestial body (Moon),
first-ever Trans-Earth injection (25 December) 		USA (NASA) Apollo 8
20 July 1969 First human on the Moon and first space launch from a celestial body
First sample return from the Moon		 USA (NASA) Apollo 11
August 4, 1969 First photograph of Phobos from Space USA (NASA) Mariner 7
19 November 1969 First rendezvous on the surface of a celestial body USA (NASA) Apollo 12/Surveyor 3

1970–1980

Date Mission Success Country/Organization Mission Name
24 September 1970 First automatic sample return from the Moon USSR Luna 16
17 November 1970 First lunar rover USSR Lunokhod 1
12 December 1970 First X-ray orbital observatory USA (NASA) Uhuru (satellite)
15 December 1970 First soft landing on another planet (Venus)
First signals from another planet		 USSR Venera 7
19 April 1971 First space station USSR Salyut 1
June 1971 First Manned orbital observatory USSR Orion 1
14 November 1971 First to maintain orbit around another planet (Mars) USA (NASA) Mariner 9
27 November 1971 First impact into Mars USSR Mars 2
2 December 1971 First soft Mars landing
First signals from Mars surface		 USSR Mars 3
3 March 1972 First human made object sent on escape trajectory away from the Sun USA (NASA) Pioneer 10
15 July 1972 First mission to enter the asteroid belt and leave inner Solar System USA (NASA) Pioneer 10
15 November 1972 First orbital gamma ray observatory USA (NASA) SAS 2
3 December 1973 First Jupiter flyby (at 130,000 km) USA (NASA) Pioneer 10
5 February 1974 Venus flyby at 5768 kilometers, first gravitational assist manoeuvre

First photograph of Venus from Space

 USA (NASA) Mariner 10
29 March 1974 First Mercury flyby at 703 kilometers USA (NASA) Mariner 10
15 July 1975 First multinational manned mission USSR USA (NASA) Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
20 October 1975 First orbit around Venus USSR Venera 9
22 October 1975 First photos from the surface of another planet (Venus) USSR Venera 9
17 April 1976 Closest flyby of the Sun (43.432 million kilometers)
Maximum speed record among spacecraft (252,792 km/h)		 USA (NASA) West Germany (DFVLR) Helios 2
20 July 1976 First photos and soil samples from the surface of Mars USA (NASA) Viking Lander
26 January 1978 First real time remotely operated ultraviolet orbital observatory USA (NASA) ESA UK (SERC) International Ultraviolet Explorer
4 December 1978 First extended (multi-year) orbital exploration of Venus from 1978 to 1992 USA (NASA) Pioneer Venus Orbiter
5 March 1979 Jupiter flyby (closest approach 349,000 km)
encounters with Five Jovian moons, discovery of volcanism on Io		 USA (NASA) Voyager 1
1 September 1979 First Saturn flyby at 21,000 km, first photographs of Titan from Space USA (NASA) Pioneer 11
12 November 1980 Saturn flyby (closest approach 124,000 kilometers), close encounter of Titan and encounters with a dozen others. USA (NASA) Voyager 1

1981–present

Date Mission Success Country/Organization Mission Name
12 April 1981 First Reusable manned spacecraft (orbital) USA (NASA) STS-1
1 March 1982 First Venus soil samples & sound recording of another world USSR Venera 13
25 January 1983 First Infrared orbital observatory USA (NASA) UK (SERC) Netherlands (NIVR) IRAS
13 June 1983 First spacecraft beyond the orbit of Neptune (first spacecraft to pass beyond all Solar System planets) USA (NASA) Pioneer 10
7 February 1984 First untethered spacewalk, Bruce McCandless II USA (NASA) STS-41-B
24 January 1986 First Uranus flyby (closest approach 81,500 kilometers) USA (NASA) Voyager 2
19 February 1986 First consistently inhabited long-term research space station USSR Mir
8 August 1989 First astrometric satellite ESA Hipparcos
25 August 1989 First Neptune flyby (closest approach at 29,240 km) USA (NASA) Voyager 2
18 November 1989 First orbital cosmic microwave observatory USA (NASA) COBE
14 February 1990 First photograph of the whole Solar System[2] USA (NASA) Voyager 1
24 April 1990 Optical orbital observatory USA (NASA) ESA Hubble Space Telescope
15 September 1990 Extended (multi-year) orbital exploration of Venus USA (NASA) Magellan
21 October 1991 First asteroid flyby (951 Gaspra closest approach 1,600 kilometers) USA (NASA) Galileo
8 February 1992 First polar orbit around the Sun USA (NASA) ESA Ulysses
22 March 1995 Record longest duration spaceflight (437.7 days) set by Valeri Polyakov Russia (FKA) Mir
7 December 1995 First orbit of Jupiter USA (NASA) Galileo
7 December 1995 First mission into the atmosphere of a gas giant (Jupiter) USA (NASA) Galileo's atmospheric entry probe
12 February 1997 First orbital radio observatory Japan (ISAS) HALCA
4 July 1997 First operational rover on another planet (Mars) USA (NASA) Mars Pathfinder
20 November 1998 First multinational space station,
Largest man-made object built in space to date		 Russia(FKA) USA (NASA) Europe (ESA) Japan (JAXA) Canada (CSA) International Space Station
14 February 2000 First orbiting of an asteroid (433 Eros) USA (NASA) ESA NEAR Shoemaker
12 February 2001 First landing on an asteroid (433 Eros) USA (NASA) NEAR Shoemaker
1 July 2004 First orbit of Saturn USA (NASA) ESA Italy (ASI) Cassini–Huygens
8 September 2004 First sample return beyond lunar orbit (solar wind) USA (NASA) Genesis
14 January 2005 First soft landing on Titan ESA USA (NASA) Italy (ASI) Cassini–Huygens
19 November 2005 First asteroid ascent (25143 Itokawa)
First interplanetary escape without undercarriage cutoff		 Japan (JAXA) Hayabusa
15 January 2006 First sample return from comet (81P/Wild) USA (NASA) Stardust
6 March 2009 Kepler Mission is launched, first space telescope designated to search for Earth-like exoplanets[3] USA (NASA) Kepler Mission
13 June 2010 First sample return from asteroid (25143 Itokawa) Japan (JAXA) Hayabusa
18 March 2011 First orbit of Mercury USA (NASA) MESSENGER
16 July 2011 First orbit of giant asteroid Vesta USA (NASA) Dawn
25 August 2012 First manmade probe in interstellar space. USA (NASA) Voyager 1
12 November 2014 First man-made probe to make a planned and soft landing on a comet (67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko).[4] ESA Rosetta
6 March 2015 First orbit of dwarf planet (Ceres).
First spacecraft to orbit two separate celestial bodies.		 USA (NASA) Dawn
July 2015 First flyby of dwarf planet (Pluto).
Last original encounter with one of the nine major planets recognized in 1981.		 USA (NASA) New Horizons
10 August 2015 Lettuce was the first food eaten that was grown in space. USA (NASA) Japan (JAXA)

1Project Vanguard was transferred from the NRL to NASA in late 1958.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dornberger, Walter (1954) [1952]. V-2. New York: Viking Press. pp. 17,256–7.
  2. ↑ See under "Extended Mission"
  3. ↑ NASA launches Kepler Mission: Search for Earth-like worlds
  4. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (Nov 12, 2014). "European Space Agency’s Spacecraft Lands on Comet’s Surface". The New York Times. Retrieved Nov 12, 2014.

External links

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