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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.
Timeline of Space Race firsts (1957-1975)
| 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 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-DARPA | |
| August 7, 1959 | First photograph of Earth from orbit | Explorer 6-NASA | |
| September 13, 1959 | First impact into another celestial body (Moon) | Luna 2 | |
| October 4, 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 reconnaissance satellite | GRAB-1-NRL | |
| August 11, 1960 | First satellite recovered intact from orbit | Discoverer 13-USAF | |
| August 12, 1960 | First passive communications satellite | Echo 1A-NASA | |
| August 18, 1960 | First reconnaissance satellite | KH-1 9009-USAF | |
| August 19, 1960 | First animals and plants returned alive from space | Sputnik 5 | |
| 1961 | First launch from orbit First mid-course corrections First spin-stabilisation |
Venera 1 | |
| April 12, 1961 | First human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin) | Vostok 1 | |
| May 5, 1961 | First pilot-controlled space flight (Alan Shepard) | Freedom 7 | |
| March 7, 1962 | First orbital solar observatory | OSO-1-NASA | |
| August 12, 1962 | First simultaneous launch of two human-piloted spacecraft First ship-to-ship radio contact |
Vostok 3 / Vostok 4 | |
| December 14, 1962 | First planetary flyby (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 | |
| 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
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)