The launch was Goddard's fourth. Both eventually were dissolved. Jan. 14, 1966: The Soviet Union's chief designer, Sergei Korolev, dies from complications stemming from routine surgery, leaving the Soviet space program without its most influential leader of the preceding 20 years. While the crew returned safely, the loss of several pieces of foam debris prompted further investigation, which delayed future shuttle missions. Sept. 11: 1985: The International Cometary Explorer, launched by NASA in 1978, performs the first comet flyby. Virgin Galactic's First Space Tourism Flight! Mid 2020  -  Blue Origin's First Space Tourism Flight! Aug. 20, 1977: Voyager 2 is launched on a course toward Uranus and Neptune. March 13, 1986: A two-cosmonaut crew launches aboard Soyuz T-15 to power up the Mir space station. March 27, 1999: Sea Launch Co. launches a demonstration satellite, successfully completing its first launch. Feb. 11, 1970: Japan's Lambda 4 rocket launches a Japanese test satellite, Ohsumi into orbit. March 23, 1965: Gemini 3, the first of the manned Gemini missions, launches with a two-person crew on a Titan 2 rocket, making astronaut Gus Grissom the first man to travel in space twice.
Feb. 3, 1995: The Space Shuttle Discovery launches anddocks with the Mir space station. Solar System Mid 2023  -  SpaceX's Starship 'Dear Moon' Mission! In doing so, China joins Russia and the United States as the only nations to have successfully tested anti-satellite weapons. Enjoy! June 3, 1965: Ed White, during the Gemini 4 mission, becomes the first American to walk in space.

Space Exploration Timeline Aug. 21, 1965: Gemini 5 launches on an eight-day mission. Oct. 1, 2003: Japan's two space agencies, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and the National Space Development Agency of Japan, merge into the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. March 3, 1972: Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to leave the solar system, launches from Cape Kennedy, Fla. Dec. 19, 1972: Apollo 17, the last mission to the moon, returns to Earth. Space News, NEAR Shoemaker & The First Landing On An Asteroid! Space Exploration Timeline & Future Missions For Kids! Below is a timeline by Space News and SPACE.com chronicling the first 50 years of spaceflight. Oct. 12, 1964: The Soviet Union launches Voskhod 1, a modified Vostok orbiter with a three-person crew. The solar panels do not unfold, there are stability problems and the parachute fails to open on descent causing the death of Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Dec. 6, 1957: A Vanguard TV-3 carrying a grapefruit-sized satellite explodes at launch; a failed response to the Sputnik launch by the United States. July 26th 69,163 AD - A simultaneous transit of Venus and Mercury! May 22, 1969: Apollo 10's Lunar Module Snoopy comes within 8.6 miles (14 kilometers) of the moon's surface. July 4, 1997: The Mars Pathfinder lander and its accompanying Sojourner rover touch down on the surface of Mars. Feb. 15, 2002: After having trouble selling its satellite mobile phone service, Globalstar voluntarily files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from escalating creditor debt. , Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter | Mapping The Moon, Skylab | Learning To Live And Work In Space, Surveyor Program | Preparing For Manned Landings, Callisto – Facts About The Oldest & Most Battered Surface, Project Mercury – Facts About NASA’s First Space Missions. Sept. 9., 2006: NASA resumes construction of the International Space Station with the launch of the shuttle Atlantis on STS-115 after two successful return to flight test missions.

Sep. 29, 1945: Wernher von Braun arrives at Ft. Bliss, Texas, with six other German rocket specialists. December 14th 2020 - 2 min 10 sec Total Solar Eclipse! ; October 24 th 1946 ­– A captured V-2 rocket in US is launched to 105 km (65 miles) and records the first pictures from space. April 3, 1966: The Soviet Luna 10 space probe enters lunar orbit, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon. The three cosmonauts are killed during re-entry from a pressure leak in the cabin. 1609 - Galileo first used the telescope to view the stars and planets.

Learn about when, and where, these all happen by reading this timeline of the coolest major milestones and dates of first accomplishments during humanity’s exploration of outer space! Jan. 27, 1967: All three astronauts for NASA's Apollo 1 mission suffocate from smoke inhalationin a cabin fire during a launch pad test. May 26th 2021 - Total Lunar Eclipse Oct. 7, 1958: NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan publicly announces NASA's manned spaceflight program along with the formation of the Space Task Group, a panel of scientist and engineers from space-policy organizations absorbed by NASA. Aug. 8, 2007: NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour launches toward the International Space Station on the STS-118 construction mission. Goddard files for and is subsequently awarded U.S. patents on multistage and liquid-fueled rockets, First observation of an extrasolar planet (, Goddard's widely influential paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" discussed solid- and liquid-fueled rocketry, Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, First space research flight (cosmic radiation experiments), First pictures of Earth from 105 km (65 mi). Mid 2020  -  Launch of The Dream Chaser Spaceplane! August 2nd 2027 - 6 min 23 sec Total Solar Eclipse! Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Sept. 1, 1979: Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to fly past Saturn. May 4, 1989: The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches the Magellan space probe to use radar to map the surface of Venus. The company emerged from bankruptcy April 14, 2004. Feb. 7, 1994: The first Milstar secure communications satellite launches. First Crewed Flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner! The mission also featured the first live TV broadcast of humans in space. Oct. 11, 2006: Lockheed Martin completes the sale of its majority share in International Launch Services to Space Transport Inc. for $60 million. Jan. 28, 1986: Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch after its external tank exploded, grounding the shuttle fleet for more than two years. New York, Oct. 15, 2003: Yang Liwei becomes China's first taikonaut, having launched aboard Shenzhou 5. Dec. 21, 1968: Apollo 8 launches on a Saturn V and becomes the first manned mission to orbit the moon. The space shot also launched the Space Race to the moon between the United States and the Soviet Union. April 25, 1990: The Space Shuttle Discovery releases the Hubble Space Telescopeinto Earth orbit. Aug. 27, 1962: Mariner 2 launches and eventually performs the first successful interplanetary flyby when it passes by Venus.

June 20 th 1944 – A V-2 Rocket launched by Nazi Germany during World War II is the first man-made object to go beyond 100 km – the Kármán line – and reach space! First food grown in space eaten (lettuce).

During their 18-month mission, they also revive the abandoned Salyut 7, and take parts that are later placed aboard Mir.
July 10, 2000: Europe's largest aerospace company, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., EADS, forms with the consolidation of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG of Munich, Aerospatiale Matra S.A. of Paris, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. of Madrid. Aug 22, 2003: The VLS-V03, a Brazilian prototype rocket, explodes on the launch pad at Alcántara killing 21 people. Dec. 2, 1993: Endeavour launches on a mission to repair theHubble Space Telescope. Nov 2020  -  NASA's Orion Journey to the Moon!