Timeline of Achievements By Each Country in Space Race
US
USSR
1957
No Significant Achievements
1957
Sputnik
Oct. 4: USSR Launches Sputnik
Nov. 3: Sputnik launches into space with a dog
Nov. 3: Sputnik launches into space with a dog
1958
Explorer 1
-Jan. 31 :Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched.
-Mar. 5 :Explorer 2 is launced but it fails to orbit.
-Mar. 17 :The Vanguard 1 satellite is launched and functions for 3 years.
-Oct. 1 -The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed, it replaces the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA).
-Oct. 11 -Pioneer 1 is launched 70,700 miles high.
-Mar. 5 :Explorer 2 is launced but it fails to orbit.
-Mar. 17 :The Vanguard 1 satellite is launched and functions for 3 years.
-Oct. 1 -The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is formed, it replaces the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA).
-Oct. 11 -Pioneer 1 is launched 70,700 miles high.
1958
Sputnik 3
-May 15 -Sputnik 3 is launched.
1959
The 'Mercury Seven'
-Mar. 3 -Pioneer 4 is launched on a Earth-Moon trajectory, passing within 37,000 miles of the Moon before falling into a solar orbit.
-Apr. 2 -The "Mercury Seven" astronauts are selected by NASA.
1959
Luna 2
-Jan. 2 -Luna 1 is launched by the USSR. It is the first man made object to orbit the Sun.
-Sep. 12 -Luna 2 is launched. It impacts the Moon on September 13, becoming the first man-made object to do so.
-Oct. 4 -Luna 3 orbits the Moon and photographs 70% of its surface.
-Sep. 12 -Luna 2 is launched. It impacts the Moon on September 13, becoming the first man-made object to do so.
-Oct. 4 -Luna 3 orbits the Moon and photographs 70% of its surface.
1960
Discoverer XIV
Apr. 1 -Tiros 1, the first successful weather satellite, is launched.
Aug. 18 -The US launches Discoverer XIV, it is the first camera equipped spy satellite.
Aug. 18 -The US launches Discoverer XIV, it is the first camera equipped spy satellite.
1960
No Significant Achievements
1961
Alan B. Shepard
-May 5 -Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.
-May 25 -President John F. Kennedy addresses Congress and challenges the nation to go to the Moon before the end of the decade.
-Jul. 21 -Gus Grissom is launched on a sub-orbital flight.
-Dec. 7 -NASA announces the Gemini Program.
1961
Yuri Gagarin
--Apr. 12 -Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in space.
1962
John F. Kennedy speech at Rice
-Feb. 20 -John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.
-May 24 -Scott Carpenter repeats John Glenn's flight on the "Aurora 7".
-Sep. 12 -President Kennedy gives a speech at Rice University reaffirming the importance of the Moon program.
-Sep. 17 -NASA selects its second group of astronauts.
-Oct. 3 -Walter Schirra orbits the Earth six times.
-Dec. 14 -Mariner 2 flies past Venus and enters a solar orbit.
-May 24 -Scott Carpenter repeats John Glenn's flight on the "Aurora 7".
-Sep. 12 -President Kennedy gives a speech at Rice University reaffirming the importance of the Moon program.
-Sep. 17 -NASA selects its second group of astronauts.
-Oct. 3 -Walter Schirra orbits the Earth six times.
-Dec. 14 -Mariner 2 flies past Venus and enters a solar orbit.
1963
No Significant Achievements
1963
Gordon Cooper
-May 15 -L. Gordon Cooper spends 34 hours in space. He is the last American to fly in space alone.
-Oct. 17 -A third group of NASA astronauts is selected.
-Oct. 17 -A third group of NASA astronauts is selected.
1963
Valentia Tereshkova
-Jun. 16 -Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
1964
The Ranger 7
-Jul. 31 -Ranger 7 transmits the first close range images of the Moon.
1964
No Significant Achievements
1965
Gemini 7
-Mar. 23 -Gus Grissom and John Young fly the first manned Gemini spacecraft.
-Jun. 3 -Ed White performs America's first spacewalk.
-Jul. 14 -Mariner 4 returns close ranger images of Mars.
-Dec. 4 -Frank Borman and James Lovell begin a two week stay in Earth orbit aboard Gemini 7.
-Dec. 15 -Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford, in their Gemini 6 spacecraft, make the first space rendezvous with Gemini 7.
1965
Alexei Leonov
-Mar. 18 -Alexei Leonov spends 12 minutes outside of his Voskhod spacecraft and performs the first spacewalk.
-Nov. 16 -Venus 3 is launched. It becomes the first man made object to impact Venus on March 1, 1966.
-Nov. 16 -Venus 3 is launched. It becomes the first man made object to impact Venus on March 1, 1966.
1966
James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin
-Jun. 2 -Surveyor 1 soft-lands on the Moon.
-Aug. 14 -Lunar Orbiter 1 enters orbit around the Moon and takes the first picture of the Earth from that distance.
-Nov. 11 -Gemini 12, the last flight of the Gemini Program, launches with James Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
1966
Luna 9
Feb. 3 -Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon.
Apr. 3 -Luna 10 becomes the first satellite to orbit the Moon.
Apr. 3 -Luna 10 becomes the first satellite to orbit the Moon.
1967
No Significant Achievements
1967
No Significant Achievements
1968
The Apollo 7
-Oct. 11 -The crew of Apollo 7 begin a 10 day mission to study the new spacecraft.
-Dec. 21 -Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders begin the first manned journey from the Earth to the Moon.
1968
The Zond 5
-Sep. 15 -Zond 5 is launched. Carrying biological cargo. It includes animals such as turtles.
1969
Neil Armstrong on the Moon
-Jul. 20 -Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the Moon alone.
-Nov. 19 -Pete Conrad and Alan Bean perform the first precision lunar landing, touching down just 600 feet from the Surveyor 3 probe that arrived two years earlier.
1969
Soyuz 5
-Jan. 16 -Soyuz 4 & 5 perform the first Soviet spacecraft docking.
1970
No Significant Achievements
1970
No Significant Achievements
1971
The Mariner 9 orbits Mars
-November 14, 1971- The Mariner 9 orbits Mars
1971
The USSR Space Station
-April 23, 1971-The USSR creates the first monolithic (intended to be constructed and launched in one piece) space station which allows a spacecraft to dock.
1972-1974
No Significant Events
1972-1974
No Significant Events
1975
The Space Race ends with the Apollo-Soyuz test project. It is the first US-USSR joint mission the mission included both seperate and joint projects and progress was made in engineering for the benefit of both countries. The primary purpose of the mission was symbolic. It eased the tension between the US and the USSR.
