This document outlines major milestones in human space exploration from the early rocket experiments of Robert Goddard in the 1920s to the ongoing International Space Station, including the first satellites launched by the Soviet Union and United States in the 1950s, the first human spaceflights by Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard in 1961, the Apollo moon landings culminating with Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon in 1969, and the space shuttle program with both successful missions and tragic accidents like Challenger and Columbia.
4. Nazi Germany’s V-2 Rockets:1944 Before World War II, many German scientists worked on developing rockets that could get to outer space. Hitler forced them to use their knowledge to develop the first ballistic missile, which was a rocket that could carry explosives a long distance to bomb other countries. The rocket they developed by 1944 was called the V-2. It was also the first rocket to reach the fringes of space. After WWII ended, Wernher von Braun, the scientist who led the German team who developed the V-2, came to the United States and helped to get the United States into space .
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7. First Earthling In Space: Nov. 1957 This sweet-faced dog was sent into space by Russia on November 3, 1957. Her name was Laika, which means “Barker”. She successfully survived her trip into space and orbited the Earth. Although she had food and water, there was no way to get her back down. She probably survived only a few days due to thermal stresses and lack of oxygen.
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16. First Earth Human in Space Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin April 12, 1961
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18. President Kennedy Challenges the Nation May 25, 1961 “We choose to go to the moon!” President John F. Kennedy in his historic message to a joint session of the Congress, on May 25, 1961 declared, "...I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." This goal was achieved when astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the Moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963; he never saw the end of the program he set in motion.
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24. Ten Thousand Galaxies: The Hubble Space Telescope April 25, 1990 Since the 1940s, astronomers dreamed of a space telescope. Earth telescopes could not see clearly through the atmosphere. After many ups and downs, the telescope finally went into space on April 25, 1990. Its first pictures were blurry, and later it was given corrective lenses. The Hubble has sent back the most incredible pictures, and the Universe is far larger than we imagined.
