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First Satellite in space by USSR
The first Satellite launched by the USSR was Sputnik 1. Sputnik was around the size of a beach ball and had no passengers aboard it. -
First animal to orbit earth from USSR
The first animal to enter orbit was a dog named Laika who was launched on the spacecraft Sputnik 2. Her survival of the mission was never expected and she died around the craft's 4th orbit around the planet. No human astronauts were present because animal testing was the precursor to human space missions. -
First Satellite in space by USA
The first US craft to get to space was Explorer 1. It measured radiation in earth's orbit and discovered radiation belts. It orbited the earth around 12.54 times a day. -
Creation of NASA
President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 into law in July. NASA opened for business in October of the same year. NASA was created to be a non-military space organization. -
First Chimpanzee performing tasks in space
A chimpanzee designated "065" was sent into suborbit on the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission. Upon his safe return to earth he was named Ham. He was able to perform tasks in space and was in overall good physical health after returning. -
First man in space by USSR
Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first person to be sent into space. He went aboard Vostok 1 and completed one orbit of earth. -
JFK's "We choose to go to the moon"
"We choose to go to the moon" was a speech given by President JFK at Rice University to support his proposal of the goal to get a man on the moon before 1970.