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It has been suggested that List of space exploration milestones, 1957–1969 be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2013.

It has been suggested that this article be merged into Timeline of the Space Race. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2013.

This is a list of first achievements in spaceflight from the first intercontinental ballistic missile through the first multinational human-crewed mission—the era of the Space Race competition between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (USA) for supremacy in space exploration. Missions are given in order of launch date.

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 animal in orbit (dog 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-NRL
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
July 5, 1960	First successful US spy satellite (returned intelligence data)		GRAB-1-NRL
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	Sputnik 5

1961–1969

Date	Significance	Soviet Union Mission	US Mission
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)		Freedom 7
May 19, 1961	First planetary flyby (Venus)	Venera 1
March 7, 1962	First orbital solar observatory		OSO-1-NASA
July 10, 1962	First active communications satellite		Telstar-AT&T
August 12, 1962	First simultaneous launch of two human-piloted spacecraft First ship-to-ship radio contact	Vostok 3 / Vostok 4
September 29, 1962	First artificial satellite constructed by a non-superpower	Canada : Alouette 1
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 (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
July 14, 1965	First Mars flyby		Mariner 4-NASA
August 29, 1965	Eight-day human spaceflight record		Gemini 5-NASA
December 15, 1965	First orbital rendezvous (station-keeping, no docking)		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 / Agena target vehicle-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/Agena target vehicle-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
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		Apollo 8-NASA
January 16, 1969	First crew exchange in space	Soyuz 4 / Soyuz 5
July 21, 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

1970–1975

Date	Significance	Soviet Union Mission	US Mission
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 23, 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
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
15 November 1972	First orbital gamma ray observatory		SAS-2-NASA
May 25, 1973	28-day human-crewed space record		Skylab 1-NASA
July 28, 1973	56-day human-crewed space record		Skylab 2-NASA
November 16, 1973	84-day human-crewed space record		Skylab 3-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 space exploration milestones, 1957–1969
• Timeline of space exploration

References

• 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 0-16-048909-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
• Brugess, Colin (2003). Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-6212-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Dallek, Robert (2003). An Finished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-17238-3.
• Freni, Pamela (2002). Space for Women: A History of Women With the Right Stuff. Santa Ana, California: Seven Locks Press. ISBN 1-931643-12-1. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Gainor, Chris (2001). Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books. ISBN 1-896522-83-1.
• Gatland, Kenneth (1976). Manned Spacecraft, Second Revision. New York, NY, USA: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 100–101. ISBN 0-02-542820-9.
• Hall, Rex (2003). Soyuz: A Universal Spacecraft. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 1-85233-657-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• 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 0-471-14853-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Harvey, Brian (2001). Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier?. New York: Springer–Praxis Books. ISBN 1-85233-203-4.
• Seamans, Robert C., Jr. (1967-04-05). "Findings, Determinations And Recommendations". Report of Apollo 204 Review Board. NASA History Office. Retrieved 2007-10-07.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Siddiqi, Asif A. (2003a). Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge. Gainsville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2627-X.
• Siddiqi, Asif A. (2003b). The Soviet Space Race with Apollo. Gainsville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2628-8.
• Thompson, Neal (2004). Light This Candle : The Life & Times of Alan Shepard—America's First Spaceman. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-609-61001-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Wolfe, Tom (1979/2001). The Right Stuff. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-613-91667-0. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Yeager, Chuck (1985). Yeager: An Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-05093-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Articles to be merged from April 2013
• Lists of firsts
• Space policy
• Technology timelines