Major Landmarks in Space Exploration

by | Feb 15, 2023 | Missions | 0 comments

Lunar Module ascent stage and Earth overhead

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  • mm module mda1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite.
  • 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to orbit Earth aboard Vostok 1.
  • 1961: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space aboard Freedom 7.
  • 1963: Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space aboard Vostok 6.
  • 1969: Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission.
  • 1971: The Soviet Union launches the first space station, Salyut 1.
  • 1975: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project marks the first joint space mission between the United States and the Soviet Union.
  • 1986: The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members.
  • 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
  • 1998: The first components of the International Space Station are launched into orbit.
  • 2001: Dennis Tito becomes the first space tourist to visit the International Space Station.
  • 2004: Cassini Mission to Saturn, Visiting Venus, Earth, Saturn’s moon Titan and finally Saturn
  • 2011: The space shuttle program is retired after 135 missions.
  • 2012: The Curiosity rover lands on Mars.
  • 2019: India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission attempts to land a rover on the Moon but experiences a technical issue.
  • 2020: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft carries astronauts to the International Space Station, marking the first crewed launch from US soil since the end of the space shuttle program.
  • 2020: Axiom Space wins NASA contract to build the replacement for the International Space Station and also buys 4 missions from NASA to use the SpaceX Crew Dragon module to send commercial astronauts to ISS.
  • 2022: Axiom Space sends the first entirely commercial mission to the International Space Station.
  • 2023: May 23rd – Axiom Space sends its second mission to the ISS, using the SpaceX Crew Dragon module.
  • 2024: January 18th saw the launch of AX-3 to the International Space station.
  • 2024: Axiom Space announces a UK Mission to include UK Astronauts and funded by all UK sponsors.

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