Space timeline

  • Neptune Is Discovered

    Discovered on September 23, 1846, Neptune was the first planet found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected... Read more

  • Pluto Discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh

    In the 1840s, using Newtonian mechanics, Urbain Le Verrier predicted the position of the then-undiscovered planet Neptune after analysing... Read more

  • Dezik and Tsygan Become First Dogs to Make a Sub-Orbital Flight

    Dezik and Tsygan were the first dogs to make a sub-orbital flight on July 22, 1951. Both dogs were recovered unharmed after travelling to a maximum... Read more

  • Soviet Union Launches Sputnik 1 Satellite

    Sputnik 1 was the world's first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. It was launched into a low altitude elliptical orbit by the Soviet Union on 4... Read more

  • NASA Established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act

    The National Aeronautics and Space Act (Pub.L. 85-568) is the United States federal statute that created the National Aeronautics and Space... Read more

  • Luna 2 Becomes First Spacecraft to Reach Moon

    After an aborted launch on 9 September, the Ye-1A probe successfully lifted off and reached escape velocity three days later. Officially named the... Read more

  • NASA's Apollo Program

    The Apollo Program was a human spaceflight program undertaken by NASA during the years 1961–1975 with the goal of conducting manned moon landing... Read more

  • First Human in Space

    Vostok 1 (Russian: Восток-1, East 1 or Orient 1) was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The... Read more

  • Apollo 2 Mission

    Apollo 2 is the informal name of the launch of AS-203. The main purpose of the AS-203 flight was to investigate the effects of weightlessness on... Read more

  • Apollo 3 Mission

    AS-202 (or SA-202) was a sub-orbital test flight of the Saturn IB and Command and Service Module. It is sometimes informally called Apollo... Read more

  • Apollo 1 Catches Fire, Three Astronauts Die

    Apollo 1 is the official name that was later given to the never-flown Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) mission. Its command module (CM-012) was destroyed... Read more

  • Apollo 4 Mission

    Apollo 4 was the first flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, carrying no crew. It was also the first flight of the S-IC and S-II stages of the... Read more

  • Apollo 5 Mission

    Apollo 5 was the first unmanned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module, which would later carry astronauts to the lunar surface. It lifted off on... Read more

  • Apollo 6 Mission

    Apollo 6, launched on April 4, 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. While the... Read more

  • Spock's Brain First Airs

    "Spock's Brain" is a third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast September 20, 1968. It was the first episode of the... Read more

  • Apollo 7 Mission

    Apollo 7 (October 11-22, 1968) was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. It was an eleven-day Earth-orbital mission, the... Read more

  • Apollo 11 Mission

    The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human... Read more

  • Apollo 12 Mission

    Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me. Read more

  • Apollo 13 Mission

    Apollo 13 was the third manned mission by NASA intended to land on the moon, but a mid-mission technical malfunction forced the lunar landing to be... Read more

  • Apollo 14 Mission

    Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the Apollo program and the third mission to land on the Moon. The nine-day mission was launched on... Read more

  • Apollo 15

    Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. It was the first of what were termed "J... Read more

  • NASA Launches Mars Probe Viking 1

    Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. It was the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars... Read more

  • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Released

    Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released simply as Star Wars, is an American 1977 space opera film, written and directed by George... Read more

  • NASA Launches Voyager 2

    The Voyager 2 spacecraft is an unmanned interplanetary space probe launched on August 20, 1977. Both the Voyager 2 and the Voyager 1 space probes... Read more

  • Sigmund Jähn Becomes the First German Cosmonaut

    Several hundred suitably experienced Air Force pilots were personally interviewed by Lt-General Wolfgang Reinhold, the serving Vice Minister of... Read more