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U.S. rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket from his Aunt Effie's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. The 4-foot high rocket dubbed "Nell" reaches an altitude of 41 feet and a speed of about 60 miles per hour. The flight lasts only 2 1/2 seconds, but paves the way for the U.S. rocket program.
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The USSR beat the United States into space by launching Sputnik 1. At 184 pounds, it was the world's first artificial satellite. Sputnik transmitted radio signals back to Earth for only a short time, but it was a major accomplishment.
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Gordon Cooper, who on the final flight of the Mercury program became the first American to spend more than 24 hours in space at once.
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is founded, taking over the responsibilities of the existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
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Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched by the United States. Two television cameras in the satellite returned views of clouds above the Earth. Tiros 1 was only operational for 78 days, but proved that satellites could be useful tools for surveying weather conditions from space.
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Ham (July 1956 %u2013 January 19, 1983), also known as Ham the Chimp and Ham the Astrochimp, was the first hominid launched into outer space. On January 31, 1961, Ham was secured in a Project Mercury capsule labeled MR-2 and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, into outer space. Ham had his vital signs and tasks monitored using computers back on Earth. The capsule suffered a partial loss of pressure during the flight, but Ham's space suit prevented him from suffering any harm.
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Yuri Gagarin was the first man ever in space. He was from the country of Russia, where he blasted off into space in the Vostok 1 space Vehicle on April 12, 1961. This historic flight paved the way for many new space heroes today.
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On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepherd became the first American in space when he took a 15 minute sub-orbital flight over the Pacific Ocean for 304 miles.
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John Glenn was the first American man in space, and the first man ever to orbit the Earth. John Glen orbited the Earth 3 times in 5 hours. At the end of the 5 hour historic flight he touched down in the Pacific Ocean
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John Glenn was the first American man in space, and the first man ever to orbit the Earth. John Glen orbited the Earth 3 times in 5 hours. At the end of the 5 hour historic flight he touched down in the Pacific Ocean.
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Valentina Vladimirovna Nikolayeva Tereshkova was the first woman to travel in space in Vostok 6. She was not just the first woman to travel in space, but the first space traveler who hadn't been a test pilot, though her parachuting and piloting experience certainly qualified her for space work. Her Vostok 6 mission orbited the earth from June 16 through June 19, 1963.
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Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched, carrying Vladimir M. Komarov. On April 24 it crashed, killing Komarov, the first spaceflight fatality.
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It was Americas first attempt the land on the moons lunar surface. On July 20, 1969 commander Armstrong and astronaut Edwin Aldrin became the first to step foot on the moon. After Neil Armstrong's foot was the first to touch the moon he spoke the unforgettable phrase "That's one step for man; One giant leap for mankind."
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Edwin E. Aldrin nicknamed Buzz was the second man to take foot on the moon.The historic step of Neil Armstrong was on July 20,1969. When Buzz was asked about being the person to step on the Moon he usually replied " we landed at the same time ".
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Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golfball on the Moon, using a ball and golf club head he had smuggled on board inside his space suit. He hit two balls just before lift-off, and drove them, as he put it, "miles and miles and miles".
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The Salyut 1 space station is launched by the U.S.S.R. It remains in orbit until May 28, 1973.
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The United States launches Skylab, the first U.S. space station. It will be occupied by three crews and be an important arena for a number of scientific experiments
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Sally Ride was the first American women in space. She mad her historic Space Flight aboard STS-7 (June 18-24, 1983) Her second flight was shuttle mission 41-G October 5-13 1984. She retired from NASA in August 1987.
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John Young has logged 835 hours in space on 6 missions. On his Apollo 16 mission he spent 3 days on the moon. Young commanded the 1st space shuttle flight in April 1981.
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Christa McAuliffe, born on September 2, 1948, died January 28, 1986 in the tragic Challenger explosion. She was chosen out of 10,463 applicants for the chance to be the first teacher in space, but she didn't reach space, because the Challenger exploded only seconds after take-off. McAuliffe planned two lessons well in space via TV to millions of school children in the U.S. Many of the students watched her take off from the Kennedy Space Flight Center. She taught high school social studies in Con
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Design, construction, flight route and permissions, and testing stretched that 18 month projection to nearly six years. In early December of 1986, Voyager was flown to Edwards Air Force Base in California. She was fueled for hours and on December 14, 1986, Voyager took off on what would become The World's Longest Flight.
Voyager's flight was the first-ever, non-stop, unrefueled flight around the world. It took place between December 14 and December 23, 1986. -
A billionaire businessman from California has become the first paying passenger to go to outer space.
Dennis Tito, aged 60, set off from Kazakhstan at 1338 local time (0838 GMT) for an eight-day holiday aboard the International Space Station. For Mr Tito, a former Nasa employee, it is the fulfilment of a dream he has held for 40 years. He paid $20m (14m) for his trip of a lifetime.
