Space Age

The launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite marked the start of the Space Age.[1]
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.[1]

Chronology

See also: Timeline of space exploration
Date First ... Mission Person(s) Country
June 20, 1944 Artificial object in outer space, i.e. beyond the Kármán line V-2 rocket, test flight[2] – N/A Germany
October 24, 1946 Pictures from space (105 km)[3][4][5] U.S.-launched V-2 rocket from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. – N/A United States
February 20, 1947 Animals in space U.S.-launched V-2 rocket on 20 February 1947 from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.[6][7][8] - fruit flies United States
October 4, 1957 Artificial satellite Sputnik 1[9] – N/A Soviet Union
November 3, 1957[10] Animal in orbit Sputnik 2[11] Laika the dog Soviet Union
January 2, 1959 Lunar flyby, and first spacecraft to achieve a heliocentric orbit Luna 1[12] – N/A Soviet Union
September 12, 1959 Impacted on the Lunar surface; thereby becoming the first human object to reach another celestial body Luna 2[13] – N/A Soviet Union
October 7, 1959 Pictures of the far side of the Moon Luna 3[14] – N/A Soviet Union
April 12, 1961 Human in space Vostok 1[15] Yuri Gagarin Soviet Union
May 5, 1961 Manual orientation of crewed spacecraft and first human space mission that landed with pilot still in spacecraft, thus the first complete human spaceflight by FAI definitions[16][17] Freedom 7[18] Alan Shepard United States
December 14, 1962 Successful flyby of another planet (Venus closest approach 34,773 kilometers) Mariner 2[19] – N/A United States
March 18, 1965 Spacewalk Voskhod 2[20][21] Alexei Leonov Soviet Union
December 15, 1965 Space rendezvous Gemini 6A[22] and Gemini 7[22] Schirra, Stafford, Borman, Lovell United States
February 3, 1966 Soft landing on the Moon by a spacecraft Luna 9[23][24] – N/A Soviet Union
March 1, 1966 First human-made object to impact another planet Venera 3[25][26] – N/A Soviet Union
March 16, 1966 Orbital docking between two spacecraft Gemini 8[27] & Agena Target Vehicle[28] Neil Armstrong, David Scott United States
April 3, 1966 Artificial satellite of another celestial body (other than the Sun) Luna 10[29] – N/A Soviet Union
October 18, 1967 First spacecraft to perform transmit data from the atmosphere of another planet Venera 4[30] – N/A Soviet Union
December 21–27, 1968 First humans to enter the gravitational influence of another celestial body (the Moon) and orbit it Apollo 8 Borman, Lovell, Anders United States
July 20, 1969 Humans land and walk on another celestial body (Moon) Apollo 11[31] Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin United States
December 15, 1970 First telemetry from the surface of another planet Venera 7[32] – N/A Soviet Union
April 19, 1971 Operational space station Salyut 1[33][34] – N/A Soviet Union
June 7, 1971 Resident crew Soyuz 11 (Salyut 1) Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, Viktor Patsayev Soviet Union
July 20, 1976 Pictures from the surface of Mars Viking 1[35] – N/A United States
April 12, 1981 Reusable orbital spaceship STS-1[36] Young, Crippen United States
February 19, 1986 Long-duration space station Mir[37] – N/A Soviet Union
February 14, 1990 Photograph of the whole Solar System[38] Voyager 1[39] – N/A United States
November 20, 1998 Current space station International Space Station[40] – N/A Russia
August 25, 2012 Artificial space probe in interstellar space Voyager 1[41] – N/A United States
November 12, 2014 Artificial probe to make a planned and soft landing on a comet (67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko)[42] Rosetta[43] – N/A European Space Agency
July 14, 2015 Nation to have its space probes to explore all of the nine major planets recognized in 1981[44] New Horizons[45] – N/A United States
December 20, 2015 Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a ground pad.[46] Falcon 9 flight 20[47] – N/A United States
April 8, 2016 Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a floating platform at sea.[48] SpaceX CRS-8[49] – N/A United States
March 30, 2017 Relaunch and second landing of a used orbital rocket booster.[50] SES-10[51] – N/A United States
January 3, 2019 Soft landing on the lunar far side by a spacecraft. Chang'e 4[52][53] – N/A China
May 30, 2020 First human orbital spaceflight launched by a private company. Crew Dragon Demo-2/Crew Demo-2/SpaceX Demo-2/Dragon Crew Demo-2[54] Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley United States

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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 - 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. p. 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. 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. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 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".
  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.
  49. ↑ Hartman, Daniel W. (July 2014). "Status of the ISS USOS" (PDF). NASA Advisory Council HEOMD Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  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.
  51. ↑ "Space Systems Mission and system requirements for Electric Propulsion" (PDF). Airbus Defence and Space. 25 November 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  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.