First Astronauts In Space
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World Almanac for Kids
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The start of the U.S. space program in 1958 was a response to the Soviet Union's launching of its satellite Sputnik I into orbit on October 4, 1957. In 1961, three years after NASA was formed, President John F. Kennedy promised Americans that the United States would land a person on the moon by the end of the 1960s. NASA landed men on the moon in July 1969. Since then, more than 400 astronauts have made trips into outer space. This time line shows some of the early flights of astronauts into space.
1961
On April 12, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in Vostok 1, became the first human to orbit Earth. On May 5, U.S. astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. of the Mercury 3 mission became the first American in space.
1962
On February 20, U.S. astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. of Mercury 6 became the first American to orbit Earth.
1963
From June 16 to 19, the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 6 carried the first woman in space, Valentina V. Tereshkova.
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World Almanac Kids
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Astronaut taking a spacewalk
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1965
On March 18, Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov became the first person to walk in space. He spent 10 minutes outside the spaceship. On December 15, U.S. Gemini 6A and 7 (with astronauts) became the first vehicles to rendezvous (approach and see each other) in space.
1966
On March 16, U.S. Gemini 8 became the first craft to dock with (become attached to) another vehicle (an unmanned Agena rocket).
1967
On January 27, a fire in a U.S. Apollo spacecraft on the ground killed astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee. On April 23, Soyuz 1 crashed to the Earth, killing Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.
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Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Caltech
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Neil Armstrong on the moon
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1969
On July 20, after successful flights of Apollo 8, 9, and 10, U.S. Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle landed on the moon's surface in the area known as the Sea of Tranquillity. Neil Armstrong became the first person ever to walk on the moon.
1970
In April, Apollo 13 astronauts returned safely to Earth after an explosion damaged their spacecraft and prevented them from landing on the moon.
1971
In July and August, U.S. Apollo 15 astronauts tested the Lunar Rover on the moon.
1972
In December, Apollo 17 was the sixth and final U.S. space mission to land successfully on the moon.
1973
On May 14, the U.S. put the first space station, Skylab, into orbit. The last Skylab crew left in January 1974.
1975
On July 15, the U.S. launched Apollo 18 and the U.S.S.R. launched a Soyuz spacecraft. Two days later, the American and Soviet spacecraft docked, and for several days their crews worked and spent time together in space. This was NASA's last space mission with astronauts until the space shuttle.
Espacio: Primeros astronautas en el espacio (Spanish Version)