China has become the third country to send humans into space, following Russia and the United States. In light of this event, let’s revisit significant milestones in humanity’s quest to conquer space.
October 4, 1957: Humanity takes its first step into space exploration with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1.
November 3, 1957: The Soviet dog Laika becomes the first living creature to be sent into space, dying a few days later aboard Sputnik 2.
January 31, 1958: The United States launches its first satellite, Explorer 1.
May 15, 1958: Sputnik 3 from the Soviet Union becomes the first space laboratory.
October 1, 1958: NASA is established.
January 2, 1959: Luna 1, the first Soviet satellite aimed at the Moon, successfully escapes Earth’s gravitational pull. In March, the U.S. achieves this milestone with Pioneer 4.
September 12, 1959: The remotely controlled rocket Luna 2 reaches the Moon, coming within 250 km of its intended target.
October 7, 1959: The Luna 3 probe transmits the first images of the Moon’s far side.
March 11, 1960: The U.S. launches its first artificial solar satellite, Pioneer 5, followed by the first meteorological satellite, Tiros 1.
April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut, becomes the first person to travel into space aboard Vostok 1, orbiting the Earth once and landing after 1 hour and 48 minutes.
May 5, 1961: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space (the flight lasts 15 minutes). President John F. Kennedy announces the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the Moon.
February 20, 1962: John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.
August 27, 1962: The U.S. successfully launches a rocket to Venus. In November, the Soviet Union launches its first rocket to Mars.
June 16, 1963: Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to travel into space.
March 18, 1965: Alexei Leonov, the Soviet cosmonaut, becomes the first person to walk in space.
December 15, 1965: Two American Gemini spacecraft successfully rendezvous in space, marking the beginning of the U.S. surpassing the Soviet Union in space exploration.
January 27, 1967: The Apollo crew tragically dies during a ground test at Cape Canaveral.
April 23, 1967: Vladimir Komarov becomes the first astronaut to die in a space mission when Soyuz 1 crashes upon re-entry.
 |
Edwin Aldrin plants the American flag on the Moon |
July 20, 1969 (July 21 GMT): Apollo 11 successfully lands Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the Moon, with Armstrong becoming the first person to set foot on Earth’s natural satellite.
April 11-15, 1970: Due to technical faults, Apollo 13 cannot reach the Moon, but all three astronauts return safely to Earth.
November 10, 1970: The Soviet Lunokhod rover is deployed on the Moon.
April 19, 1971: The first Salyut 1 space station is launched by the Soviet Union.
June 29, 1971: Three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11—Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladimir Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev—tragically die due to cabin depressurization upon landing.
May 14, 1973: The U.S. Skylab space station is placed in orbit.
May 31, 1975: The European Space Agency (ESA) is established.
July 1975: The U.S. Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft meet in space.
December 24, 1979: The first Ariane rocket is launched, establishing Europe as a formidable competitor in space exploration.
April 12, 1981: The first flight of the Columbia Space Shuttle takes place.
June 24, 1982: Jean-Loup Chrétien becomes the first Frenchman in space.
January 28, 1986: Seven American astronauts tragically lose their lives aboard the Challenger spacecraft, leading to a two-year suspension of flights.
February 19, 1986: The third-generation Soviet space station MIR is launched, which operates until March 2001.
April 25, 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
November 2, 2000: Two Russian astronauts and one American become the first residents of the International Space Station (ISS).
January 17, 2003: A Chinese official announces the launch of Shenzhou V.
February 1, 2003: The American space shuttle Columbia explodes, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
September 8, 2003: Chinese state television officially confirms the flight of the Shenzhou V spacecraft on October 15.
Source: Vitinfo
Article submitted by Trần Ngọc Tuấn 9A/ĐK to www.khoahoc.tv
Email: [email protected]
