| Date |
Event |
| Oct.4, 1957 |
The first ever satellite to be launched
into space by humans was the ?i>Sputnik1?by the Soviet Union in
the October of 1957. Sputnik 1’s purpose was to take readings of
cosmic rays, Earth’s atmosphere and other aspects of space then radioing
the data back to Earth. Sputnik disintegrated in the atmosphere
57 days after launch. |
| Nov.3, 1957 |
The second satellite sent into space was
Sputnik 2, launched also by the USSR. The difference between Sputnik
variant two was that it contained a passenger; a small dog named Laika
who was put to sleep several days later after this spacecraft performed
(the first) biomedical measurements in space. The satellite was
destroyed when it fell back to Earth after spending a total of 162 days
in space. |
| Jan.31, 1958 |
Whilst Sputnik 2 was still in orbit,
the United States launched their first spacecraft, ?i>Explorer 1?
which transmitted readings of cosmic rays and micrometeoroids for a
total of 112 days. Its data led to the discovery of the ‘Van Allen?
belts surrounding the Earth. |
| Mar.17, 1958 |
The United States launched their second
satellite; the Vanguard 2 which was solar powered and last almost
six years transmitting signals. A study of its orbit revealed that the
Earth is not exactly round, but slightly pear shaped. |
| May.28, 1958 |
The USA launched a squirrel
monkey in the nose of a Jupiter rocket from Cape Canaveral but it
was failed to be recovered at sea. |
| 1958 |
The first attempts by the USA
and USSR at sending probes to the moon fails. |
| Sep.12, 1959 |
The USSR makes the first successful moon
shot with the probe ?i>Luna 2.?It crash lands in the edge of ‘Mare
Imbirum?and deposits a little sphere with the Soviet emblem on the
surface. |
| Dec.4, 1959 |
A monkey called Sam flew in a
prototype Mercury capsule from the Wallops Flight Facility off
Virgina. In its 11 minutes flight it reached an altitude of 85 km and
was successfully recovered. |
| Aug.19, 1960 |
By this time the USSR were
ready to carry out orbital tests with animals on their new Vostok
spacecraft, launching two dogs, Belka and Strelka into orbit. Along with
the dogs there were two rats, 28 mice and numerous insect, plant and
seed specimens. Following the orbiting of the Earth 18 times which
spanned approximately a day, the re-entry capsule was successfully
recovered on Earth; the animals were alive and healthy. This marked the
first successful ‘live?recovery in space history. |
