Space Exploration Timeline

By: Brandon Favors

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky- A Russian scientist showed that space travel was possible only by means of rocket propulsion. He began testing rockets in 1st decade of the 20th century.

1900

Robert Goddard an American professor who is credited with creating and building the world’s 1st liquid fueled rocket which he successfully launched on March 16,1926.

1914

1926

This is also a pictureof Robert Goddard aboutto launch his first successful rocket. It waslaunched on March 16, 1926.

1930

V-2 spacecraft a ballistic missile that was developedat the beginning of the 2nd World War in Germany.The rocket was the world’s1st long-range combat ballistic missile and the 1st rocket ever to go into the fringes of space.

1944

V-2 spacecraft was first successfully launched on October 3, 1942, and was fired against Paris on September 6, 1944. The V-2 spacecraft was developed in Germany through the efforts of scientists led by Wernher Von Braun.

1954

This is a picture of The Viking Spacecraft. In 1954, the U.S. Air force began development of Thor, Delta's predecessor and in 1955. The spacecraft reached Mars on Sept. 23, 1999, low-Earth polar orbit, approximately 420 nautical miles above Earth.

1957

History changedon October 4th 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik.The world’s 1st artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball. This launched ushered in new political military technology and scientific developments.

1961

Yuri Gagarin, Hero of the Soviet Union, was Soviet cosmonuat who on April 12, 1961 became the firsthuman to journey into outer space.

1961

The Redstone rocket launched the first Americansatellite developed into orbit. The rocket was developed by a team headed by Dr. Werhnervon Braun, who had been working for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. A Redstone rocket also launchedthe Mercury capsules on their sub-orbital flights on October 27, 1961, inaugurating American’s human spaceflight program.

1967

This is a picture of the Lunar Orbiter. The Lunar Orbiter was a series of five unmanned lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States from 1966 through 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon’s surface. The photograph taken on May 11, 1967.

1969

This is a picture of Neil Armstrong is the first manon the Moon. Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on Earth’s Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission, carried out by the United States, is considered a major accomplishment in the historyof exploration and represented a victory for the United States in the Cold War Space with the Soviet Union.

1971

This is the Mariner 9. Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Itlaunched on May 30,1971 by NASA of the United States.

1971

The Salyut 1 was the first space station of any kindlaunched by theUSSR on April 19,1971.

1972

This is Apollo 16 on the Moon. Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program. It was the fifth mission to land on the moon and the first to land on a highlands area. The mission was launched on April 16, 1972 and concluded on April 27.

1973

This is the Skylab SpaceStation. Skylab, America’s 1st space station was a 2-level workshop in a converted Saturn S-IVB stage. Skylab launched May 14, 1973. The Skylab space station orbited Earth for more than 1717 days.

1976

This is the Viking 1on Mars. Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of the NASA’s Viking program. It was the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission. Landing on Mars was planned for July 4, 1976, but imaging of the primary landing site showed it was too rough for a safe landing. It landed on July 20, 1976.

1979

This is the Sun’s corona taken by the Skylab, on January 1, 1979 by the U.S.

1981

The US space first launched on April 12, 1981, was theworld’s first reusable spacecraft. The space shuttle was initially used to deploysatellites in orbit; to carry scientific experiments such as Spacelab.

1983

This is the Challenger taking photos of Earth that shows Australia. It was launched onApril 4, 1983 by the United States.

1986

This is the Mir SpaceStation. It was launched onFebruary 20, 1986. The Proton booster launched the core module of the Mir space station. The official Soviet news reports released immediately after the launch said that the spacecraft is equipped with six docking ports and will serve as core of the future multi-modular orbital station.

1990

The Hubble Telescope is a spacetelescope that was carried into orbit bya space shuttle in1990. When he finally launched on April 24th 1990. Scientists found that the main mirrorhad been ground incorrectly, severely compromising the telescopes capabilities.

1995

This is Galileo’s spacecraft he sent to Jupiter. Galileo was an unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. It arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1997. It was discovered that Jupiter’s faint ring system is formed by dust from impacts on the four small inner moons.

1996

This is the Mars Pathfinder is an American spacecraft that landed the first roving probe deployed on another planet. The mission carried a series of scientific instruments to analyze the Martian atmosphere, climate, and the composition of its rocks and soil. It was launched on December 4,1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II.

1998

This is the International SpaceStation. The ISS is by far the largestartificial satellite that has ever orbitedEarth. The ISS is a synthesis of severalspace station projects that include theAmerican Freedom, the Soviet/RussianMir-2. The first module of the station,Zarya, was launched in Russia on June3, 1998.