1. Sputnik I
- 4th October 1957 – Sputnik-I– 1st artificial satellite to orbit Earth (Low Earth Orbit) launched by Soviet Union (USSR).
- It was launched on modified R-7 rocket.
- R-7 was developed by Sergie Korolov was the 1st ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile).
- It orbited Earth every 96 minutes.
Launch of Sputnik 1 by USSR in 1957 began the space race. This is evident from the launch of Explorer 1 by United States of America, following formation of NASA .
2. Sputnik II
- Launched by USSR.
- It was launched on modified R-7 rocket.
- It was 2nd spacecraft launched to orbit Earth.
- It was first to carry an animal, a dog named Laika (died on 4th orbit).
- 3rd November 1957- Sputnik II was launched.
3. Explorer 1
- Launch date- 31st January 1958
- It was launched by United States of America.
- Spacecraft- Juno or Jupiter C Rocket (modified German V-2 rocket).
- Carried Gaiger counter for detecting cosmic waves.
4.NASA formed
- Formed on 29th July 1958.
- It succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
- NASA is an independent agency of the United States of America.
- Headquarters- Washinton, D.C.
Project Mercury, Project Gemini, Project Apollo
Project Mercury
- First human spaceflight program of the United States.
- Duration- 1958-1963
- First flight- Big Joe 1.
- First crewed flight- Redstone 3 or Freedom-7.
- 1 person crew.
Project Gemini
- It was second United States human spaceflight program.
- Duration – 1961-1966.
- First flight- Gemini 1.
- First crewed flight- Gemeni-3.
- 2 Crew member.
Project Apollo
- Successor of Project Mercury and Project Gemini.
- Purpose- To land man on moon.
- Crew size- 3.
- Duration – 1961 to 1972
- First flight- Apollo 1- failed.
- Apollo 11– first to land humans on the Moon.
Luna Missions by USSR
It was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976.
Luna 1
- It was the first spacecraft to reach the near Earth’s Moon.
- First spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit.
- Luna 1 became the first human made object to reach heliocentric orbit.
- Referred to as first cosmic ship.
Luna 2
- It was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon.
Luna 3
- It was the first mission to take picture far side of the Moon.
50+ Important Computer Questions asked in SSC – onelinerspyq
5. First Human in Space
It was launched on 12th April, 1961.
It was launched by USSR. The name of spacecraft was Vostok I.
Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around Earth.
Total flight time was 108 minutes.
6. Redstone-3
- Also known as Freedom 7.
- It was under Project Mercury.
- It launched Alex Shephard into Space.
- It was a suborbital flight.
- Time duration- 15 minutes.
- Launched in 1961.
7. Vostok 6
- 1st human spaceflight to carry a women.
- Valentina Tereshkova became first woman to travel to space.
- Launch in 1963.
8. Voskhod 2
- Crewed space mission from USSR.
- Carried 2 persons
- Pavel Belyayev and Alexei Leonov.
- Alexei Leonov was the 1st person to leave spacecraft to conduct 12 minutes space walk.
- Launched in 1965.
9. Apollo 11
- Launched on 16 July 1969.
- Three-member crew-Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collin.
- Launched on Saturn V Rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- Neil Armstrong was 1st to land on moon, then Buzz aldrin landed. Michael Collins remained on lunar orbit.
- Lunar module – Eagle.
- landed on 20th July 1969.
50+ Important Computer Questions asked in SSC – onelinerspyq
One thought on “History of Space Exploration – Important events”