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History of Space Travel

Learn about the history of humans traveling into space.

The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space exploration back when scientists didn’t know if spaceflight was lethal for living things.

Humans are explorers. Since before the dawn of civilization, we’ve been lured over the horizon to find food or more space, to make a profit, or just to see what’s beyond those trees or mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore reached new heights—literally—in the last hundred years. Airplanes shortened distances, simplified travel, and showed us Earth from a new perspective. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even higher.

Our first steps into space began as a race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, rivals in a global struggle for power. Laika was followed into orbit four years later by the first human, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin. With Earth orbit achieved, we turned our sights on the moon. The United States landed two astronauts on its stark surface in 1969, and five more manned missions followed. The U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched probes to study the solar system. Manned space stations began glittering in the sky. NASA developed reusable spacecraft—space shuttle orbiters—to ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit. Space-travel technology had advanced light-years in just three decades. Gagarin had to parachute from his spaceship after reentry from orbit. The space shuttle leaves orbit at 16,465 miles an hour (26,498 kilometers an hour) and glides to a stop on a runway without using an engine.

Space travel is nothing like in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations involving inertia and gravity—literally, rocket science—to "slingshot" from planet to planet (or moon) across the solar system. The Voyager mission of the 1970s took advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to shave off nearly 20 years of travel time. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died doing their job.

That hasn’t stopped people from signing up and blasting off. NASA’s shuttle program has ended, but private companies are readying their own space programs. A company called Planetary Resources plans to send robot astronauts to the Asteroid Belt to mine for precious metals. Another company named SpaceX is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Mars—the next human step into the solar system—in 20 years. NASA and other civilian companies are planning their own Mars missions. Maybe you’ll be a member of one? Don’t forget to bring your dog.

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Space Exploration Timeline & Future Missions For Kids!

History of the space age.

Born from World War II technology, rockets have enabled mankind to put satellites in orbit, send probes to the furthest regions of the solar system and even put men on the Moon! Learn about when, and where, these all happen by reading this timeline of the coolest major milestones and dates of first accomplishments during humanity’s exploration of outer space! Enjoy!

Space Exploration In The 1940’s!

• June 20 th 1944 – A V-2 Rocket launched by Nazi Germany during World War II is the first man-made object to go beyond 100 km – the Kármán line – and reach space!
• October 24 th 1946 ­ – A captured V-2 rocket in US is launched to 105 km (65 miles) and records the first pictures from space.
• February 20 th 1947 ­ – The first animal (fruit flies) reaches space aboard an American V-2.

Space Exploration In The 1950’s!

• July 22 nd 1951 – A Soviet R-1 rocket launches the first dogs (Dezik & Tsygan) into space!
• October 4 th 1957 ­ – The Soviet Union launches the first satellite into orbit called Sputnik-1 which transmits for 22 days! The Space Race begins!
• November 3 rd 1957 – A Soviet rocket launches the first dog (Laika) into orbit!
• January 31 st 1958 ­ - The America’s launch their first satellite called Explorer-1 into orbit.
• January 4 th 1959 ­– The USSR launches Luna-1 and is the first satellite to reach the vicinity of the Moon and first to enter heliocentric orbit.
• September 13 th 1959 ­– The USSR launches Luna-2 and is the first probe to touch another world when it impacts with the Moon.
• October 4 th 1959 ­– The USSR launches Luna-3 the first probe to image the far side of the Moon .

Space Exploration In The 1960’s!

• January 31 st 1961 – The US launches the first Chimpanzee into space who performs tasks and survives.
• April 12 th 1961 – The USSR launches the first human into space - Yuri Gagarin .
• May 5 th 1961 – The US launches the first American into space – Alan Shepard .
• February 20 th 1962 – The US launches their first man into orbit – John Glenn .
• December 14 th 1962 – The first successful planetary flyby ( Venus ) – by Mariner 2 .
• June 16 th 1963 – The USSR puts the first women ( Valentina Tereshkova ) into Space!
• March 18 th 1965 – Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performs the first spacewalk (extra-vehicular activity) .
• July 14 th 1965 – The first flyby of Mars and first close-up photographs from another planet - Mars .
• February 3 rd 1966 – First soft landing on another world ( the Moon ) and the first images from the surface.
• March 16 th 1966 ­ – During Project Gemini , Gemini 8 completed the first orbital docking between two spacecraft.
• December 21 st 1968 – Apollo 8 carries 3 astronauts to the Moon , for the first time humans leave low Earth orbit.
• July 20 th 1969 – First human walks on the Moon during Apollo 11 mission !

Space Exploration In The 1970’s

• November 17 th 1970 – The USSR lands Lunokhod 1- the first lunar rover.
• December 15 th 1970 – USSR conducts the first soft landing on another planet with Venera 7 on Venus .
• November 14 th 1971 – Mariner 9 becomes the first probe to orbit another planet.
• March 3 rd 1972 – Pioneer 10 becomes the first probe to reach escape velocity of the Solar System and crosses the asteroid belt enroute to Jupiter .
• February 5 th 1974 – Mariner 10 uses a gravity assist for the first time enroute to flyby Mercury  for the first time!
• August 20 th 1977 – Voyager 2 launches on its epic journey through the outer planets.
• September 5 th 1977 – Voyager 1 launches bound for Jupiter , Saturn and Titan !

Space Exploration In The 1980’s

• April 12 th 1981 – Launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia – the first reusable (orbital) spacecraft!
• January 24 th 1986 – First Uranus flyby by Voyager 2 .
• January 28 th 1986 – Challenger disintegration shortly after launch.
• February 19 th 1986 – Mir Space Station becomes the first consistently inhabited space station.
• May 4 th 1989 – The Magellan spacecraft launches from the payload bay of the Space Shuttle bound for Venus to map the surface through the dense clouds.
• August 25 th 1989 – First Neptune flyby by Voyager 2 .

Space Exploration In The 1990’s

• April 24 th 1990 – The famous Hubble Space Telescope is launched into space aboard Shuttle Discovery .
• October 21 st 1991 – The first flyby of an asteroid in the asteroid belt by Galileo.
• March 22 nd 1995 - Record longest duration spaceflight (437.7 days) set by Valeri Polyakov.
• December 7 th 1995 – Galileo achieves the first orbit of Jupiter .
• July 4 th 1997 – Mars Pathfinder becomes the first operational rover on another planet.
• October 24 th 1998 – Deep Space 1 launches to test the ion propulsion system .
• November 20 th 1998 – Construction of the International Space Station (ISS) begins.

Space Exploration In The 2000’s

• February 14 th 2000 – The first spacecraft ( NEAR Shoemaker ) to orbit an asteroid!
• April 28 th 2001 – American Dennis Tito became the first paying space tourist to go to space on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and spent 8 days at the ISS.
• February 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia burns up during re-entry killing 7 astronauts.
• July 1 st 2004 – First spacecraft ( Cassini-Huygens ) to enter orbit around Saturn .
• January 14 th 2005 – The Huygens probe performs the first soft landing beyond Mars on Titan !
• March 6 th 2009 – The Kepler spacecraft is launched to discover Exoplanets in the Milky Way .

Space Exploration In The 2010’s

• March 18 th 2011 – A spacecraft orbits Mercury for the first time – MESSENGER .
• July 21 st 2011 – The final flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis signals the end of the Shuttle Program.
• May 25 th 2012 – A SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with and attach to the ISS.
• August 25 th 2012 – A man-made probe reaches interstellar space – Voyager 1!
• November 12 th 2014 – The Rosetta spacecraft performs a soft landing on a comet.
• March 6 th 2015 – the Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around dwarf planet Ceres becoming the first spacecraft to visit Ceres and to orbit two bodies.
• July 15 th 2015 – The New Horizons spacecraft makes the first flyby of Pluto and its moons.
• August 10 th 2015 – Lettuce became the first food to be grown and eaten in space.
• December 21 st 2015 – Space Exploration Corp (SPACEX) successfully lands the Falcon 9 first stage. The first time an orbital class rocket has been recovered.
• March 30 th 2016 – SpaceX reuses a previously flown Falcon 9 first-stage, the first orbital-class 1 st stage to be reflown in history.

Missions and Spaceflight Milestones Of The Future!

• 2019/2020  - Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin will start taking paying space tourists into space via sub-orbital flights.
• 2019/2020  – SpaceX and Boeing plan to launch astronauts to the International Space Station  aboard their Starliner  and  Dragon Crew capsules!
• 2021  – NASA plans to launch the James Webb Telescope which will likely create many discoveries.
• 2023 – NASA intends to send astronauts on a lunar flyby mission aboard their new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The first time humans have left low Earth orbit since 1972 (the Apollo 17 mission).
• 2024 – SpaceX intends to send their new Starship spacecraft  on a trip around the Moon with paying passengers for a journey called Dear Moon !
• 2030 – The European Space Agency (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer will enter orbit around Ganymede becoming the first probe to orbit another planets moon.
• 2030s – NASA plans to launch the Orion spacecraft using the Space Launch System (SLS) and send astronauts on a 2 year journey to Mars .
• 2050’s – Could humans send a manned mission to the moons of Saturn ?
• 2100’s – Could human beings build an interstellar spaceship capable of travelling to a nearby star system with Earth-like exoplanets ? Is this our destiny to venture out, explore and live amongst the stars of the Milky Way Galaxy ?

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