Timeline of space exploration
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This article is outdated. (June 2013) |
This is a timeline of space exploration including notable achievements and first accomplishments in humanity's physical exploration of outer space.
Contents |
Prior to 1942[edit]
| Date | Event leading to space exploration | Country | Researcher(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1687 | Publication of the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica |  England |
Sir Isaac Newton |
| 1813 | First exposition of the rocket equation based on Newton's third law of motion: Treatise on the Motion of Rockets |  UK |
William Moore |
| 1865 | From the Earth to the Moon published. |  France |
Jules Verne |
| 1898 | The War of the Worlds published. This inspired Robert Goddard to investigate rocketry. | UK |
H. G. Wells |
| 1903 | Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne, first serious work published that showed physical space exploration was theoretically possible: Исследование мировых пространств реактивными приборами (The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices)[1] |  Russia |
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky |
| 1914 | Goddard files for and is subsequently awarded U.S. patents on multistage and liquid-fueled rockets |  United States |
Robert H. Goddard |
| 1919 | Goddard's widely influential paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" discussed solid- and liquid-fueled rocketry | United States |
Robert H. Goddard |
| 15 December 1923 | Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen ("By Rocket into Planetary Space") self-published after its rejection as a doctoral thesis. |  Germany |
Hermann Oberth |
| 1924 | Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel founded in Soviet Union |  Soviet Union |
members include Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Friedrich Zander, Yuri Kondratyuk |
| 16 March 1926 | Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket | United States |
Robert H. Goddard |
| 1927 | Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) formed; it includes many top European rocket scientists. | .svg){kind=small} Germany |
|
| 1927 | "The Conquest of Interplanetary Space" discusses rocket mechanics and orbital effects including the gravitational slingshot | Soviet Union |
Yuri Kondratyuk |
| 1928 | Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums – der Raketen-Motor (The Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor) discusses space travel and its potential uses for scientific experiments. |  Austria |
Herman Potočnik |
| 1929 | Oberth, with students including Wernher von Braun, launches his first liquid-fueled rocket | Germany |
Hermann Oberth |
| 1931 | First German military liquid-fueled rocket engines developed | Germany |
Walter Riedel |
| 1933 | Work begins on the Aggregate series of rockets which leads to the V-2 rocket. | .svg){kind=small} Germany |
Wernher von Braun |
| 17 August 1933 | Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD) launches the first Soviet liquid-fueled rocket | Soviet Union |
Sergey Korolev (group leader), Friedrich Zander (designer) |
| 1935 | Graduate student Frank Malina under his professor Theodore von Kármán begins work on a sounding rocket | United States |
Frank Malina |
1942–1947[edit]
| Date | Mission Achievements | Country/Organization | Mission Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 October 1942 | First vehicle to cross the Kármán line (100 km/~62 mi above the Earth's surface) and thereby enter outer space[2] | Germany |
V-2 rocket, military program |
| 10 May 1946 | First space research flight (cosmic radiation experiments) | United States |
captured and improved V-2 rocket |
| 22 May 1946 | First U.S.-designed rocket to reach edge of space (80 km (49 mi)) | United States |
WAC Corporal |
| 10 October 1946 | First pictures of earth from 62 mi (100 km) [2][3] | United States |
V-2 |
| 1947 | First animals in space (fruit flies) [4][5] | United States |
V-2 |
1957–1960[edit]
| Date | Mission Achievements | Country/Organization | Mission Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 August 1957 | First intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) | USSR |
R-7 Semyorka/SS-6 Sapwood |
| 4 October 1957 | First artificial satellite First signals from space |
USSR |
Sputnik 1 |
| 3 November 1957 | First animal in orbit, the dog Laika | USSR |
Sputnik 2 |
| 31 January 1958 | Confirmed the existence of the Van Allen belts | USA (ABMA) |
Explorer 1 |
| 2 January 1959 | First firing of a rocket in Earth orbit First reaching Earth escape velocity or Trans Lunar Injection First detection of solar wind |
USSR |
Luna 1 |
| 4 January 1959 | First artificial satellite to reach the Moon vicinity and first artificial satellite in heliocentric orbit | USSR |
Luna 1 |
| 7 August 1959 | First photograph of Earth from orbit | USA (NASA) |
Explorer 6 |
| 13 September 1959 | First impact into another world (the Moon) First delivery of national (USSR) pennants to a celestial body |
USSR |
Luna 2 |
| 4 October 1959 | First photos of far side of the Moon | USSR |
Luna 3 |
| 19 August 1960 | First plants and animals to return alive from Earth orbit | USSR |
Sputnik 5 |
1961–1969[edit]
| Date | Mission Success | Country/Organization | Mission Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 January 1962 | First Hominidae in space, first tasks performed in space; Ham (chimpanzee). | USA (NASA) |
M-R 2 |
| 12 February 1961 | First launch from Earth orbit of upper stage into a heliocentric orbit First mid-course corrections First spin-stabilisation |
USSR |
Venera 1 |
| 12 April 1961 | First human spaceflight–(Yuri Gagarin) First human-crewed orbital flight |
USSR |
Vostok 1 |
| 19 May 1961 | First planetary flyby (within 100,000 km of Venus) | USSR |
Venera 1 |
| 7 March 1962 | First orbital solar observatory | USA (NASA) |
OSO-1 |
| 14 December 1962 | First planetary flyby by USA (Venus closest approach 34,773 kilometers) | USA (NASA) |
Mariner 2 |
| 16 June 1963 | First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova) | USSR |
Vostok 6 |
| 19 July 1963 | First reusable crewed spacecraft (suborbital) | USA (NASA) |
X-15 Flight 90 |
| 18 March 1965 | First extra-vehicular activity | USSR |
Voskhod 2 |
| 14 July 1965 | First Mars flyby (closest approach 9,846 kilometers) | USA (NASA) |
Mariner 4 |
| 15 December 1965 | First orbital rendezvous (parallel flight, no docking) | USA (NASA) |
Gemini 6A/Gemini 7 |
| 3 February 1966 | First soft landing on another world (the Moon) First photos from another world |
USSR |
Luna 9 |
| 1 March 1966 | First impact into another planet (Venus) | USSR |
Venera 3 |
| 16 March 1966 | First orbital docking between two spacecraft | USA (NASA) |
Gemini 8/Agena target vehicle |
| 3 April 1966 | First artificial satellite around another world (the Moon) | USSR |
Luna 10 |
| 2 June 1966 | Soft landing on the Moon photos from the Moon |
USA (NASA) |
Surveyor 1 |
| 30 October 1967 | First automated (crewless) docking | USSR |
Cosmos 186/Cosmos 188 |
| 7 December 1968 | First orbital ultraviolet observatory | USA (NASA) |
OAO-2 |
| 21 December 1968 | First piloted orbital mission of another celestial body (Moon), First-ever Trans-Earth injection (25 December) |
USA (NASA) |
Apollo 8 |
| 21 July 1969 | First human on the Moon and first space launch from a celestial body | USA (NASA) |
Apollo 11 |
| 19 November 1969 | First rendezvous on the surface of a celestial body | USA (NASA) |
Apollo 12/Surveyor 3 |
1970–1980[edit]
| Date | Mission Success | Country/Organization | Mission Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 September 1970 | First automatic sample return from the Moon | USSR |
Luna 16 |
| 23 November 1970 | First lunar rover | USSR |
Lunokhod 1 |
| 12 December 1970 | First X-ray orbital observatory | USA (NASA) |
Uhuru (satellite) |
| 15 December 1970 | First soft landing on another planet (Venus) First signals from another planet |
USSR |
Venera 7 |
| 23 April 1971 | First space station | USSR |
Salyut 1 |
| June, 1971 | First Manned orbital observatory | USSR |
Orion 1 |
| 14 November 1971 | First to maintain orbit around another planet (Mars) | USA (NASA) |
Mariner 9 |
| 27 November 1971 | First impact into Mars | USSR |
Mars 2 |
| 2 December 1971 | First soft Mars landing First signals from Mars surface |
USSR |
Mars 3 |
| 3 March 1972 | First human made object sent on escape trajectory away from the Sun | USA (NASA) |
Pioneer 10 |
| 15 July 1972 | First mission to enter the asteroid belt and leave inner solar system | USA (NASA) |
Pioneer 10 |
| 15 November 1972 | First orbital gamma ray observatory | USA (NASA) |
SAS 2 |
| 3 December 1973 | First Jupiter flyby (at 130,000 km) | USA (NASA) |
Pioneer 10 |
| 5 February 1974 | Venus flyby at 5768 kilometers, first gravitational assist manoeuvre | USA (NASA) |
Mariner 10 |
| 29 March 1974 | First Mercury flyby at 703 kilometers | USA (NASA) |
Mariner 10 |
| 15 July 1975 | First multinational manned mission | USSR USA (NASA) |
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project |
| 20 October 1975 | First orbit around Venus | USSR |
Venera 9 |
| 22 October 1975 | First photos from the surface of another planet (Venus) | USSR |
Venera 9 |
| 20 July 1976 | First photos and soil samples from the surface of Mars | USA (NASA) |
Viking Lander |
| 26 January 1978 | First real time remotely operated ultraviolet orbital observatory | USA (NASA)  ESA UK-SERC |
International Ultraviolet Explorer |
| 4 December 1978 | First extended (multi-year) orbital exploration of Venus from 1978 to 1992 | USA (NASA) |
Pioneer Venus Orbiter |
| 5 March 1979 | Jupiter flyby (closest approach 349,000 km) | USA (NASA) |
Voyager 1 |
| 1 September 1979 | First Saturn flyby at 21,000 km | USA (NASA) |
Pioneer 11 |
| 12 November 1980 | Saturn flyby (closest approach 124,000 kilometers) | USA (NASA) |
Voyager 1 |
1981–present[edit]
| Date | Mission Success | Country/Organization | Mission Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 April 1981 | First Reusable manned spacecraft (orbital) | USA (NASA) |
STS-1 |
| 1 March 1982 | First Venus soil samples & sound recording of another world | USSR |
Venera 13 |
| 25 January 1983 | First Infrared orbital observatory | USA (NASA) UK-SERC  Netherlands-NIVR |
IRAS |
| 23 March 1983 | Ultraviolet orbital observatory | USSR France |
Astron |
| 13 June 1983 | First spacecraft beyond the orbit of Neptune (first spacecraft to pass beyond all Solar System planets) | USA (NASA) |
Pioneer 10 |
| 7 February 1984 | First untethered spacewalk, Bruce McCandless II | USA (NASA) |
STS-41-B |
| 24 January 1986 | First Uranus flyby (closest approach 81,500 kilometers) | USA (NASA) |
Voyager 2 |
| 19 February 1986 | First consistently inhabited long-term research space station | USSR |
Mir |
| 25 August 1989 | First Neptune flyby | USA (NASA) |
Voyager 2 |
| 18 November 1989 | First orbital cosmic microwave observatory | USA (NASA) |
COBE |
| 1 December 1989 | Ultraviolet to gamma ray spectrum orbital observatory | USSR France  Denmark  Bulgaria |
Granat |
| 14 February 1990 | First photograph of the whole solar system[3] | USA (NASA) |
Voyager 1 |
| 24 April 1990 | Optical orbital observatory | USA (NASA) ESA |
Hubble Space Telescope |
| 21 October 1991 | First asteroid flyby (951 Gaspra closest approach 1,600 kilometers) | USA (NASA) |
Galileo |
| 8 February 1992 | First polar orbit around the Sun | USA (NASA) ESA |
Ulysses |
| 22 March 1995 | record longest duration spaceflight (437.7 days) set by Valeri Polyakov | Russia |
Mir |
| 7 December 1995 | First orbit of Jupiter | USA (NASA) |
Galileo |
| 7 December 1995 | First mission into the atmosphere of a gas giant (Jupiter) | USA (NASA) |
Galileo's atmospheric entry probe |
| 14 February 2000 | First orbiting of an asteroid (433 Eros) | USA (NASA) |
NEAR Shoemaker |
| 12 February 2001 | First landing on an asteroid (433 Eros) | USA (NASA) |
NEAR Shoemaker |
| 4 January 2004 | Free ranging Mars rover | USA (NASA) |
Spirit rover |
| 25 January 2004 | Free ranging Mars rover | USA (NASA) |
Opportunity rover |
| 1 July 2004 | First orbit of Saturn | USA (NASA) ESA  ASI |
Cassini–Huygens |
| 14 January 2005 | First soft landing on Titan | ESA USA (NASA) ASI |
Cassini–Huygens |
| 19 November 2005 | First asteroid ascent (25143 Itokawa) First interplanetary escape without undercarriage cutoff |
 Japan (JAXA) |
Hayabusa |
| 7 May 2006 | Extended (multi-year) orbital exploration of Venus | ESA |
Venus Express |
| 24 October 2007 | First stage of China's lunar probe program, the satellite Chang'e 1 |  China |
Chang'e 1 |
| 6 March 2009 | Kepler Mission is launched, first space telescope designated to search for Earth-like exoplanets[4] | USA |
Kepler Mission |
| 13 June 2010 | First sample return from asteroid (25143 Itokawa) | Japan (JAXA) |
Hayabusa |
| 18 March 2011 | First orbit of Mercury | USA (NASA) |
MESSENGER |
| 16 July 2011 | First orbit of Vesta | USA (NASA) |
Dawn |
| 18 July 2011 | Radio orbital observatory. Largest space observatory ever launched. | Russia (Astro Space Center) |
RadioAstron |
| 8 August 2012 | Nuclear-powered NASA rover successfully lands on Mars to seek out life clues. | USA (NASA) |
Curiosity rover |
| 1 October 2012 | First flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis | China |
Chang'e 2 |
1Project Vanguard was transferred from the NRL to NASA in late 1958.
See also[edit]
- Discovery and exploration of the Solar System
- Timeline of Solar System exploration
- Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes
- Timeline of space travel by nationality
References[edit]
- ^ Tsiolkovsky's Исследование мировых пространств реактивными приборами – The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices (Russian paper)[dead link]
- ^ Dornberger, Walter (1954—English translation) [1952 V2—Der Schuss ins Weltall]. V-2. New York: Viking Press. pp. 17,256–7.
- ^ See [1] under "Extended Mission"
- ^ NASA launches Kepler Mission: Search for Earth-like worlds
External links[edit]
- Chronology of Space Exploration archive of important space exploration missions and events, including future planned and proposed endeavors
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