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Launching of Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the first man-made object to orbit the Earth it was launched by the U.S.S.R., and stayed in orbit until January 4, 1958. -
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Space Race Timeline
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First Satillite to Orbit
Explorer 1 was the first U.S. satellite in orbit, It was a scientific experiment of James A. Van Allen, and discovered the Earth's radiation belt. -
Luna 1
Luna 1 was the first man-made satellite to orbit the moon, is launched by the U.S.S.R. -
Tiros 1
Tiros 1, was the first successful weather satellite launched by the U.S. -
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 is launched by the U.S.S.R., and Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gargarin, was the first man in space and he orbited the Earth once. -
Mercury Friendship 7
Mercury Friendship 7 lifts off with John H. Glenn, Jr., the first American in orbit, and orbits the Earth three times. -
Vostok 6
Vostok 6 carried Soviet Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova, the first woman in space and orbits the Earth 48 times. -
U.S. Ranger 7
U.S. Ranger 7 relays the first close-range photographs of the Moon. -
First Space Walk
The first space walk is made from Soviet Voskhod 2 by Cosmonaut Alexei A. Leonov and the duration was 12 minutes. -
American astronauts
American astronauts Walter Schirra, Jr. and Thomas Stafford in Gemini 6 make the first space rendezvous with Gemini 7. -
Soviet luna 9.
Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon. -
U.S. Lunar Orbiter 1
U.S. Lunar Orbiter 1 enters moon orbit, and takes the first picture of the Earth from the distance of the moon. -
Soviet Soyuz 1
Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched, carrying Vladimir M. Komarov. On April 24 it crashed, killing Komarov, the first spaceflight fatality. -
Apollo 11
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the Moon, and the first moonwalk, using Apollo 11. -
Apollo 17's return from the moon.
Launched 07 December 1972
Landed on Moon 11 December 1972
Taurus-Littrow
Returned to Earth 19 December 1972
