Table 23.1: Space Race Timeline
Date Accomplished Country Name of Mission
October 4, 1957 First artificial satel-
lite, first signals
from space
USSR Sputnik 1
November 3, 1957 First animal in orbit
(the dog Laika)
USSR Sputnik 2
January 31, 1958 USA’s first artificial
satellite
USA Explorer I
January 4, 1959 First human-made
object to orbit the
Sun
USSR Luna 1
September 13, 1959 First impact into
another planet or
moon (the Moon)
USSR Luna 2
April 12, 1961 First manned
spaceflight and
first manned orbital
flight (Yuri Gagarin)
USSR Vostok 1
May 5, 1961 USA’s first space-
flight with humans
(Alan Shepherd)
USA Mercury-Redstone 3
(Freedom 7)
February 20, 1962 USA’s first orbital
flight with humans
(John Glenn)
USA Mercury-Atlas 6
(Friendship 7)
December 14, 1962 First planetary flyby
(Venus)
USA Mariner 2
June 16, 1963 First woman in
space, first woman
in orbit (Valentina
Tereshkova)
USSR Vostok 6
March 18, 1965 First extra-vehicular
activity (“space-
walk”) (Aleksei
Leonov)
USSR Voskhod 2
February 3, 1966 First soft landing on
another planet or
moon (the Moon),
first photos from an-
other world
USSR Luna 9