-
Hans Lippershey was the first to create a successful refracting telescope.
-
-
The four largest moons were discovered by Galileo around January 1610 and were the first group of objects found to orbit another planet.
-
It was a prototype that was later named a Newtonian Telescope.
-
The English astronomer Sir Isaac Newton publishes the Philosophae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
-
Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky publishesThe Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices.
-
American Robert H. Goddard successfully launched the first liqiud fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachussets. The rocket traveled 2.5 seconds at about 60 mph.
-
The U.S. military achieves its first high-altitude space flight using a rebuilt German V-2 rocket. Launched from the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico, the flight reaches an altitude of 70 miles.
-
Nearly one hundred fruit flies left the launch pad as eggs, hatched during the flight and landed at the International Space Station in larval form.
-
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into an elliptical low Earth orbit.
-
Laika was a Soviet Union dog who beame one of the first animals in space, and the first animals in low orbit. Unfortunately Laika did not make on the journey back.
-
Explorer 1 was the first rocket launched by the United States.
-
America launched its first satellite. Weighing only 30 pounds, Explorer 1 was launched into orbit by the Army on a Jupiter-C rocket.
-
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is founded, taking over the responsibilities of the existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
-
Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, this was an astonishing achievement.
-
The Salyut 1 space station is launched by the Soviet Union and become the first space station in orbit.
-
Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin drive the first moon rover while exploring the Moon's surface. The next year, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt drives a similar rover.
-
American space probe Mariner 9 is launched May 30, 1971. Six months later it arrives at the planet Mars and becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
-
Astronomers designate Cignus X-1 as the first probable black hole This binary star system emits strong bursts as X-rays as matter is crushed out of existence by the black hole.
-
Following the success of Viking 1, the Viking 2 spacecraft lands on Mars on the Plain of Utopia. It discovers and photographs water frost and sends back stunning images of the Martian surface.
-
American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock in what is the first international spacecraft rendezvous.
-
The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft leave Earth on an epic tour of the Solar System. They will soon meet with Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980.
-
Two U.S. Pioneer spacecraft reach the planet Venus. One drops four probes into the atmosphere, while the other maps the surface.
-
The U.S. Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, arrives at Jupiter and begins sending back amazing images of the giant planet and its moons.
-
The first manned mission of the Space Transportation System (STS-1), Columbia, is launched. This mission, as well as the next three, will be a test flight to try out the spacecraft's systems.
-
The Soviet Venera 13 spacecraft lands on the planet Venus and provides the first scientific analysis of the Venusian soil.
-
Astronaut Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman to travel into space on Space Shuttle
-
The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to free astronomers of a limitation that has tortured them since Galileo.
-
Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov returns to Earth after an impressive 438-day mission aboard Russian space station Mir, setting a new space endurance record.
-
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is successfully landed on the surface of the asteroid Eros.
-
U.S. Shuttle astronauts Susan Helms and Jim Voss set a new endurance record as they install the Leonardo module aboard the International Space Station. The total time spent in space is 8 hours 56 minutes.
-
Russia launches the Spektr-R which becomes largest space telescope to be placed into orbit.
-
Russia launches the Spektr-R which becomes largest space telescope to be placed into orbit.
-
Australian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first human being to break the sound barrier without a jet or spacecraft as he jumps from the edge of space. During his descent, he reaches a top speed of 833 mph (1340 kph).
-
The European Space Agency's Philae lander becomes the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on a comet.
-
NASA's Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around dwarf planet Ceres. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
-
NASA's Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around dwarf planet Ceres. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
-
The European Space Agency's Philae lander becomes the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on a comet.