Space Age

The launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite marked the start of the Space Age.
The signals of Sputnik 1 continued for 22 days.
The Space Shuttle lifts off on a crewed mission to space.

The Space Age is the time period in human history related to the space race, space exploration, and space technology. Most people say this started when Sputnik 1 was launched in 1957, and continues to today. This has influenced culture such as in movies, television, music, art, and architecture.

Chronology

Date First ... Mission Person(s) Country
June 20, 1944Artificial object in outer space, i.e. beyond the Kármán lineV-2 rocket, test flight– N/AGermany
October 24, 1946Pictures from space (105 km)U.S.-launched V-2 rocket from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.– N/AUnited States
February 20, 1947Animals in spaceU.S.-launched V-2 rocket on 20 February 1947 from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.- fruit fliesUnited States
October 4, 1957Artificial satelliteSputnik 1– N/ASoviet Union
November 3, 1957Animal in orbitSputnik 2Laika the dogSoviet Union
January 2, 1959Lunar flyby, and first spacecraft to achieve a heliocentric orbitLuna 1– N/ASoviet Union
September 12, 1959Impacted on the Lunar surface; thereby becoming the first human object to reach another celestial bodyLuna 2– N/ASoviet Union
October 7, 1959Pictures of the far side of the MoonLuna 3– N/ASoviet Union
April 12, 1961Human in spaceVostok 1Yuri GagarinSoviet Union
May 5, 1961Manual orientation of crewed spacecraft and first human space mission that landed with pilot still in spacecraft, thus the first complete human spaceflight by FAI definitionsFreedom 7Alan ShepardUnited States
December 14, 1962Successful flyby of another planet (Venus closest approach 34,773 kilometers)Mariner 2– N/AUnited States
March 18, 1965SpacewalkVoskhod 2Alexei LeonovSoviet Union
December 15, 1965Space rendezvousGemini 6A and Gemini 7Schirra, Stafford, Borman, LovellUnited States
February 3, 1966 Soft landing on the Moon by a spacecraft Luna 9 – N/A Soviet Union
March 1, 1966 First human-made object to impact another planet Venera 3 – N/A Soviet Union
March 16, 1966Orbital docking between two spacecraftGemini 8 & Agena Target VehicleNeil Armstrong, David ScottUnited States
April 3, 1966Artificial satellite of another celestial body (other than the Sun)Luna 10– N/ASoviet Union
October 18, 1967 First spacecraft to perform transmit data from the atmosphere of another planet Venera 4 – N/A Soviet Union
December 21–27, 1968First humans to enter the gravitational influence of another celestial body (the Moon) and orbit itApollo 8Borman, Lovell, AndersUnited States
July 20, 1969Humans land and walk on another celestial body (Moon)Apollo 11Neil Armstrong, Buzz AldrinUnited States
December 15, 1970 First telemetry from the surface of another planet Venera 7 – N/A Soviet Union
April 19, 1971Operational space stationSalyut 1– N/ASoviet Union
June 7, 1971Resident crewSoyuz 11 (Salyut 1)Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, Viktor PatsayevSoviet Union
July 20, 1976Pictures from the surface of MarsViking 1– N/AUnited States
April 12, 1981Reusable orbital spaceshipSTS-1Young, CrippenUnited States
February 19, 1986Long-duration space stationMir– N/ASoviet Union
February 14, 1990Photograph of the whole Solar SystemVoyager 1 – N/AUnited States
November 20, 1998Current space stationInternational Space Station– N/ARussia
August 25, 2012Artificial space probe in interstellar spaceVoyager 1– N/AUnited States
November 12, 2014Artificial probe to make a planned and soft landing on a comet (67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko)Rosetta– N/AEuropean Space Agency
July 14, 2015Nation to have its space probes to explore all of the nine major planets recognized in 1981New Horizons– N/AUnited States
December 20, 2015Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a ground pad.Falcon 9 flight 20– N/AUnited States
April 8, 2016Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a floating platform at sea.SpaceX CRS-8– N/AUnited States
March 30, 2017Relaunch and second landing of a used orbital rocket booster.SES-10– N/AUnited States
January 3, 2019Soft landing on the lunar far side by a spacecraft.Chang'e 4– N/AChina
May 30, 2020First human orbital spaceflight launched by a private company.Crew Dragon Demo-2/Crew Demo-2/SpaceX Demo-2/Dragon Crew Demo-2Bob Behnken, Doug HurleyUnited States

References

  1. 1 2 McDougall, Walter A (Winter 2010), "Shooting the Moon", American Heritage.
  2. ↑ "Long-range" in the context of the time. See NASA history article Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Chronology: Cowboys to V-2s to the Space Shuttle to lasers". www.wsmr.army.mil. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2013-01-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ Reichhardt, Tony. "First Photo From Space". airspacemag.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Post War Space". postwar.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15.
  7. ↑ "The Beginnings of Research in Space Biology at the Air Force Missile Development Center, 1946–1952". History of Research in Space Biology and Biodynamics. NASA. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  8. ↑ "V-2 Firing Tables". White Sands Missile Range. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  9. ↑ Terry 2013, p. 233.
  10. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  11. ↑ Berger, Eric (3 November 2017). "The first creature in space was a dog. She died miserably 60 years ago". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  12. ↑ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1959-012A Archived 2019-06-02 at the Wayback Machine - 27 February 2020
  13. ↑ Harvey, Brian (2007). Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration. Springer. Bibcode:2007srle.book.....H. ISBN 978-0-387-73976-2.
  14. ↑ Harvey, Brian (2011). Russian space probes: scientific discoveries and future missions. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4419-8150-9.
  15. ↑ Colin Burgess, Rex Hall (June 2, 2010). The first Soviet cosmonaut team: their lives, legacy, and historical impact. Praxis. pp. 356. ISBN 978-0-387-84823-5.
  16. ↑ "Geek Trivia: A leap of fakes". 14 September 2004. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Manned Space Firsts". Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  18. ↑ Swenson Jr., Loyd S.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C. (1989). "11-1 Suborbital Flights into Space". In Woods, David; Gamble, Chris (eds.). This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury (url). NASA. Archived from the original on July 13, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  19. ↑ "Mariner 2". US National Space Science Data Center. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ Burgess, Colin; Hall, Rex (2009). The first Soviet cosmonaut team their lives, legacy, and historical impact (Online-Ausg. ed.). Berlin: Springer. p. 252. ISBN 978-0387848242.
  21. ↑ Grayzeck, Dr. Edwin J. "Voskhod 2". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. National Space Science Data Center. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  22. 1 2 Hacker, Barton C.; Grimwood, James M. (September 1974). "Chapter 11 Pillars of Confidence". On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini. NASA History Series. Vol. SP-4203. NASA. p. 239. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-22. With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations.
  23. ↑ "Chandrayaan-2 landing: 40% lunar missions in last 60 years failed, finds Nasa report". 7 September 2019.
  24. ↑ Siddiqi, Asif A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF). The NASA history series (second ed.). Washington, D.C.: NASA History Program Office. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9781626830424. LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
  25. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Venera 3MV-3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  26. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Venera 3 (3MV-3 #1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  27. ↑ NASA (March 11, 1966). "Gemini 8 press kit" (PDF) (Press release). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  28. ↑ Agle, D. C. (September 1998). "Flying the Gusmobile". Air & Space.
  29. ↑ Siddiqi, Asif A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF). The NASA history series (second ed.). Washington, D.C.: NASA History Program Office. p. 1. ISBN 9781626830424. LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
  30. ↑ Siddiqi, Asif A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF). The NASA history series (second ed.). Washington, D.C.: NASA. ISBN 9781626830424. LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
  31. ↑ Orloff, Richard W. (2000). Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference. NASA History Series. Washington, D.C.: NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans. ISBN 978-0-16-050631-4. LCCN 00061677. OCLC 829406439. SP-2000-4029. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Science: Onward from Venus". Time. 8 February 1971. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  33. ↑ Baker, Philip (2007). The Story of Manned Space Stations: An Introduction. Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences. Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-30775-6.
  34. ↑ Ivanovich, Grujica S. (2008). Salyut - The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy. Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences. Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-73585-6.
  35. ↑ Image – Viking 1 Approaches Mars
  36. ↑ "STS-1 Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. 1981. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  37. ↑ Jackman, Frank (29 October 2010). "ISS Passing Old Russian Mir In Crewed Time". Aviation Week.[permanent dead link]
  38. ↑ See "Voyagers". Archived from the original on 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-07-21. under "Extended Mission"
  39. ↑ "Voyager - Mission Status".
  40. ↑ Gary Kitmacher (2006). Reference Guide to the International Space Station. Canada: Apogee Books. pp. 71–80. ISBN 978-1-894959-34-6. ISSN 1496-6921. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  41. ↑ "Voyager - Mission Status".
  42. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (Nov 12, 2014). "European Space Agency's Spacecraft Lands on Comet's Surface". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-11-12. Retrieved Nov 12, 2014.
  43. ↑ Agle, D. C.; Brown, Dwayne; Bauer, Markus (30 June 2014). "Rosetta's Comet Target 'Releases' Plentiful Water". NASA. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  44. ↑ Talbert, Tricia (25 March 2015). "New Horizons: The First Mission to the Pluto System and the Kuiper Belt". nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  45. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (July 18, 2015). "The Long, Strange Trip to Pluto, and How NASA Nearly Missed It". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  46. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (December 21, 2015). "SpaceX Successfully Lands Rocket after Launch of Satellites into Orbit". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  47. ↑ "2015 U.S. Space Launch Manifest". americaspace.com. AmericaSpace, LLC. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  48. ↑ Drake, Nadia (April 8, 2016). "SpaceX Rocket Makes Spectacular Landing on Drone Ship". National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016. To space and back, in less than nine minutes? Hello, future.
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  50. ↑ Grush, Loren (March 30, 2017). "SpaceX makes aerospace history with successful landing of a used rocket". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
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  52. ↑ Lyons, Kate. "Chang'e 4 landing: China probe makes historic touchdown on far side of the moon". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  53. ↑ "China successfully lands Chang'e-4 on far side of Moon". Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  54. ↑ "Crew Dragon SpX-DM2". Spacefacts. Retrieved 31 May 2020.