- 1258
| Feb 15 | The Mongols use rockets to capture the city of Baghdad. Ref | |
- 1264
| Oct 03 | Comet said to predict the death of Pope Urban IV is last seen. | Ref: 5 |
- 1456
-
- 1497
| Mar 09 | Nicolaus Copernicus makes his first recorded astronomical observation. | Ref: 5 |
- 1514
| Apr 26 | Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn. | Ref: 5 |
- 1543
| May 24 | On the day of his death, Copernicus's "On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres" is published, proof of a sun-centered solar system. | Ref: 2 |
- 1566
| Aug 07 | UFO sighted above Basle, Switzerland is first to be chronicled. | Ref: 10 |
- 1572
| Nov 06 | Supernova is observed in the constellation known as Cassiopeia. | Ref: 5 |
- 1576
| May 23 | Tycho Brahe given Hveen Island to build Uraniborg Observatory. | Ref: 5 |
- 1579
| Aug 08 | Cornerstone is laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory. | Ref: 5 |
- 1592
| Dec 07 | Galileo gives his first lecture at the University of Padua in the Venetian Republic. | |
- 1596
| Aug 03 | David Fabricius discovers light variation of Mira (1st variable star). | Ref: 5 |
- 1600
| Feb 04 | Tycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler meet for first time outside of Prague. | Ref: 5 |
- 1604
| Dec 24 | Galileo observes a new star (supernova) for the first time. | |
- 1609
| Aug 08 | Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei's telescope. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 25 | Galileo demonstrates his 1st telescope to Venetian lawmakers. | Ref: 5 |
- 1610
| Jan 01 | German astronomer Simon Marius first discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 07 | Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, 46, discovered four satellites of Jupiter with the aid of the newly invented telescope. His discovery revolutionized astronomy, and led Galileo to adopt the Copernican (heliocentric) model of the solar system in place of the older, less adequate, Ptolemaic (earth-centered) view. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 13 | Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, 4th satellite of Jupiter. | Ref: 5 |
- 1611
| Apr 14 | Word "telescope" is 1st used (Prince Federico Cesi). | Ref: 5 |
- 1612
| Dec 15 | Simon Marius, is first to observe Andromeda galaxy through a telescope. | Ref: 5 |
- 1616
| Mar 05 | Copernicus' "de Revolutionibus" placed on Catholic Forbidden index. | Ref: 5 |
- 1618
| Mar 08 | Johann Kepler discovers the third Law of Planetary Motion. | Ref: 2 |
- 1630
| May 17 | Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi, is the first to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface. | Ref: 5 |
- 1631
| Dec 06 | First predicted transit of Venus (Kepler) is observed. | Ref: 5 |
- 1633
| Jun 21 | Galileo Galilei is forced by Inquisition to "abjure, curse, & detest" his Copernican heliocentric views. | Ref: 5 |
- 1638
| Jun 25 | A lunar eclipse becomes the first astronomical event recorded in US. | Ref: 5 |
- 1639
| Nov 24 | The first transit of Venus across the Sun observed by William Crabtree and Rev Jeremiah Harrocks. | Ref: 5 |
- 1642
| Aug 13 | Christiaan Huygens discovers Martian south polar cap. | Ref: 5 |
- 1644
| Jan 18 | Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America's first UFO sighting. | Ref: 5 |
- 1655
| Mar 25 | Christiaan Huygens discovers Titan, (Saturn's largest satellite). | Ref: 5 |
- 1662
| Sep 16 | Flamsteed sees solar eclipse, first known astronomical observation in the New World. | Ref: 5 |
- 1675
| Jun 22 | Royal Greenwich Observatory established in England by Charles II. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 10 | Construction begins on the astronomical observatory at Greenwich England by order of Charles II. | Ref: 62 |
- 1678
| Feb 13 | Tycho Brahe first sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system. | Ref: 5 |
- 1682
| May 01 | Louis XIV & his court inaugurate the Paris Observatory. | Ref: 5 |
- 1686
| Aug 18 | Cassini reports seeing a satellite orbiting Venus. | Ref: 5 |
- 1690
| Dec 23 | John Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it's undiscovered. | Ref: 5 |
- 1715
| Apr 29 | John Flamsteed observes Uranus for 6th time. | Ref: 5 |
- 1744
| Dec 31 | James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's motion of nutation (wobble). | Ref: 5 |
- 1758
| Sep 12 | Charles Messier observes the Crab Nebula & begins catalog. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 25 | Halley's comet first sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch during return. | Ref: 5 |
- 1765
| Jan 16 | Charles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major). | Ref: 5 |
- 1771
| Feb 16 | Messier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy. | Ref: 5 |
- 1774
| Jan 11 | Messier adds M51 (spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici) to his catalog | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | First recorded observation of the Orion Nebula (William Herschel). | Ref: 5 |
- 1777
| Feb 16 | Messier adds M53 to his catalog (globular cluster in Coma Berenice). | Ref: 5 |
- 1779
| Jan 23 | Charles Messier catalogs M56 (globular cluster in Lyra). | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 31 | Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog. | Ref: 5 |
- 1780
| May 02 | William Herschel discovers first binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris. | Ref: 5 |
- 1781
| Mar 13 | Astronomer William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus, which he names 'Georgium Sidus,' in honor of George III. | Ref: 2 |
- 1783
| Feb 01 | William Herschel announces star Lambda Herculis as apex. | Ref: 5 |
| May 04 | Herschel reports seeing a red glow near lunar crater Aristarchus. | Ref: 5 |
- 1785
| Aug 01 | Caroline Herschel becomes first woman discoverer of a comet. | Ref: 5 |
- 1787
| Jan 11 | Titania & Oberon, moons of Uranus, are discovered by William Herschel. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 19 | Sir Willian Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. | Ref: 5 |
- 1789
| Aug 28 | Saturnian moon Enceladus discovered by William Herschel. | Ref: 62 |
| Sep 17 | William Herschel discovers Mimas, satellite of Saturn. | Ref: 5 |
- 1791
| Feb 17 | Messier catalogs M83 (spiral galaxy in Hydra). | Ref: 5 |
- 1799
| Nov 12 | Andrew Ellicott Douglass, an early American astronomer born in Vermont, becomes the first to witness and document the Leonids meteor shower from a ship off the Florida Keys. | Ref: 3 |
- 1801
| Jan 01 | First asteroid (Ceres) discovered by Giuseppi Piazzi. | Ref: 10 |
- 1819
| Jul 04 | William Herschel makes last telescopic observation of 1819 comet. | Ref: 5 |
- 1836
| May 15 | Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse. | Ref: 5 |
- 1838
| Jun 12 | Hopkins Observatory, dedicated in Williamstown, Mass. | Ref: 5 |
- 1839
| Dec 18 | First photograph of the moon taken by John William Draper of New York City. | Ref: 5 |
- 1840
| Mar 23 | Draper takes first successful photo of the Moon (daguerrotype). | Ref: 5 |
- 1841
| Jul 03 | John Couch Adams decides to determine the position of an unknown planet by irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus. | Ref: 5 |
- 1842
| Apr 13 | Lord Rosse successfully casts 72" (183-cm) mirror for a telescope. | Ref: 5 |
- 1845
| Apr 02 | H.L. Fizeau & J Leon Foucault take 1st photo of Sun | Ref: 5 |
- 1846
| Sep 23 | The planet Neptune is discovered by Johann Gottfried Galle, of the Berlin Observatory, and Louis d'Arrest, an astronomy student, through mathematical predictions made by Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier. (XDG, p 4A, 9/23/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Oct 01 | Times of London publishes discovery in Berlin on September 23rd of planet Neptune. | Ref: 10 |
| Oct 10 | Neptunian moon Triton discovered by William Lassel. | Ref: 5 |
- 1847
| Jul 10 | Urbain J.J. Leverrier & John Couch Adams, codiscoverers of Neptune meet for first time at home of John Herschel. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 01 | Maria Mitchell, American astronomer, discovers a comet and is elected the same day to the American Academy of Arts--the first woman to be so honored. The King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal for her discovery. | Ref: 5 |
- 1849
| Dec 18 | Ten years after Draper, William Bond takes first photo of moon through a telescope. | Ref: 5 |
- 1850
| Jul 17 | Astronomer George Phillips Bond of Harvard Observatory takes the first photograph of a star (Vega). | Ref: 5 |
- 1851
| Oct 24 | William Lassell discovers Ariel & Umbriel, satellites of Uranus. | Ref: 5 |
- 1854
| Jun 10 | Georg F.B. Reiman proposes that space is curved. | Ref: 5 |
- 1857
| Mar 25 | Frederick Langenheim of Philadelphia takes world's first photograph of a solar eclipse. | Ref: 5 |
- 1858
| Sep 28 | Donati's comet becomes the first to be photographed. | Ref: 5 |
- 1859
| Mar 26 | First sighting of Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 21 | Andrew Lanergan of Boston, MA received the first rocket patent. | Ref: 4 |
| Oct 19 | Wilhelm Tempel discovers diffuse nebula around Pleid star Merope. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | GR Kirchoff describes chemical composition of Sun. | Ref: 5 |
- 1862
| Jan 31 | Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius. | Ref: 5 |
- 1864
| Aug 29 | William Huggins discovers chemical composition of nebulae. | Ref: 5 |
- 1865
| Mar 20 | The celebration of the first complete revolution of Uranus since its discovery | Ref: 62 |
- 1868
| Aug 18 | Pierre Janssan discovers helium in solar spectrum during eclipse. | Ref: 5 |
- 1869
| May 01 | A colt is reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH. | Ref: 5 |
- 1871
| Dec 12 | Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum. | Ref: 5 |
- 1877
| Aug 11 | Martian moon Deimos discovered by Asaph Hall | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 17 | Asaph Hall discovers Mars' moon Phobos. | Ref: 5 |
- 1880
| Sep 30 | Henry Draper takes that first photograph of the Orion Nebula. | Ref: 5 |
- 1881
| Jun 22 | Bright comet with fan shaped tail observed over London for a couple of days | Ref: 62 |
| Jun 24 | First photograph taken of a comet by A.A. Common in England and H. Draper in USA. | Ref: 10 |
- 1882
| Dec 06 | Atmosphere of Venus detected during transit. | Ref: 5 |
- 1885
| Nov 26 | (and 27th) Earliest photograph of a meteor shower made. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | Earliest photograph of a meteor shower made. | Ref: 5 |
- 1889
| Jan 30 | John Herschel uses camera obscura to photograph 48" (120cm) telescope. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 07 | Astronomical Society of Pacific holds first meeting in San Francisco. | Ref: 5 |
- 1891
| Aug 19 | William Huggins describes astronomical application of spectrum. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | Astronomical Society of France is inaugurated. | Ref: 5 |
- 1897
| May 21 | Yerkes Observatory 40" (1 meter) refractor used for first time. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 21 | Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago is dedicated. | Ref: 5 |
- 1899
| Mar 18 | Phoebe, a moon of Saturn is discovered by Pickering. | Ref: 5 |
- 1900
| Dec 17 | The French offer a 1st prize of 100,000 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy. | Ref: 5 |
- 1905
| Jan 05 | Charles Perrine announces the discovery of Jupiter's 7th satellite, Elara. | Ref: 5 |
- 1908
| Jan 27 | Pasiphaë, a satellite of Jupiter, discovered by Melotte. | Ref: 5 |
- 1910
| Apr 19 | Halley's comet seen by naked eye first time this trip (Curacao). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | Halley's Comet passes 29th recorded perihelion at 87.9 million km. | Ref: 5 |
| May 18 | Passage of Earth through tail of Halley's Comet causes near-panic. | Ref: 5 |
- 1914
| Jul 14 | Robert H. Goddard of Worcester, MA patents liquid rocket fuel. | Ref: 4 |
- 1915
| Mar 03 | National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA forerunner) created. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 19 | Pluto photographed for first time (although unknown at the time). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | The ACA becomes the National Advisory Council on Aeronautics (NACA), the forerunner of NASA. | Ref: 2 |
- 1918
| Nov 07 | Goddard demonstrates tube-launched solid propellant rocket | Ref: 5 |
- 1920
| Jan 13 | New York Times editorial (falsely) reports rockets can never fly. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | H Shapley & H.D. Curtis hold "great debate" on nature of nebulae. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 13 | F Pease's interferometer measures first stellar diameter (Betelgeuse). | Ref: 5 |
- 1921
| Jan 28 | Albert Einstein startles Berlin by suggesting the possibility of measuring the universe. | Ref: 2 |
- 1923
| Oct 05 | Edwin Hubble identifies Cepheid variable star. | Ref: 5 |
- 1924
| Dec 30 | Edwin Hubble announces existence of other galactic systems. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 31 | Edwin Hubble announces existence of distant galactic systems. | Ref: 5 |
- 1926
| Mar 16 | Pioneer physicist and engineer Dr. Robert H. Goddard launches the first successful liquid-fuel rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts. Goddard’s rocket, launched from a homemade pipe frame, rose 41 feet and in a 2.5-second flight reached a speed of about 60 miles per hour, proving the practicality of liquid-propelled rocketry. | Ref: 39 |
| Apr 03 | 2nd flight of a liquid-fueled rocket by Robert Goddard. | Ref: 5 |
- 1930
-
| May 10 | The first planetarium in the US (The Adler) opens in Chicago | Ref: 5 |
| May 31 | Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth | Ref: 5 |
- 1931
| Jun 09 | First rocket-powered aircraft design patented (R. Goddard). | Ref: 5 |
- 1933
| Nov 25 | First Soviet liquid rocket attains altitude of 261' (80m). | Ref: 5 |
- 1934
| Mar 08 | Edwin Hubble photo shows as many galaxies as Milky Way has stars. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 02 | 5.08-m (200") Mt Palomar Observatory mirror is cast. | Ref: 5 |
- 1935
| Mar 28 | Goddard uses gyroscopes to control a rocket. | Ref: 5 |
| May 14 | Los Angeles' Griffith Planetarium opens, 3rd in US. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 02 | NY Hayden Planetarium, the 4th in the US, opens. | Ref: 5 |
- 1936
| Mar 26 | The 200-inch-diameter, 20-ton reflecting mirror is shipped -- very, very carefully -- from Corning, New York to Mt. Palomar Observatory in California. | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 29 | 10,000 watch the 200" mirror blank passing through Indianapolis | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 10 | 200" mirror blank arrives in Pasadena. | Ref: 5 |
- 1938
| Aug 20 | Jean-Loup Chritien first French traveler in space (on Soyuz T-6), is born. | Ref: 5 |
- 1939
| Jun 20 | Test flight of first rocket plane using liquid propellants. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 01 | The Physical Review publishes the first paper to deal with "black holes". | Ref: 5 |
- 1941
| Jan 23 | Ground breaking for NACA (now NASA) Lewis Research Center. | Ref: 5 |
- 1942
| Feb 27 | J S Hey discovers radio emissions from the Sun. | Ref: 5 |
- 1945
| May 25 | Arther C Clark proposes relay satellites in geosynchronous orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 20 | German rocket engineers begin work in US. | Ref: 5 |
- 1946
| Jan 10 | US Army establishes first radar contact with Moon, Belmar NJ. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 24 | U.S. Army Signal Corps first bounce radar off the moon. | Ref: 10 |
| Mar 22 | The 1st US rocket to leave the Earth's atmosphere (50 miles up) is launched. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 16 | First US launch of captured V-2 rocket, White Sands NM; 8 km altitude. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | First rocket attains 100 mi (167 km) altitude, White Sands, NM. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 17 | US V-2 rocket reaches 183 km, White Sands Proving Grounds NM. | Ref: 5 |
- 1947
| May 22 | First US ballistic missile fired. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | Looking skyward this night, Kenneth Arnold of Boise, Idaho reported seeing flying saucers over Mt. Rainier, Washington. | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 02 | An object crashed near Roswell, N.M. The Army Air Force later said it was a weather balloon, but eyewitness accounts gave rise to speculation it might have been an alien spacecraft. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 05 | Birth of a legend: Mac Brazel finds remnants of strange object in Roswell, New Mexico first UFO? | Ref: 10 |
| Oct 03 | First telescope lens 200" (508 cm) in diameter completed. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 19 | 200" mirror arrives at Mt Palomar. | Ref: 5 |
- 1948
| Feb 16 | Miranda, famous moon of Uranus, photographed for 1st time. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | US rocket flies record 4800 KPH to 126k height. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 14 | A flash of light is observed in the crater Plato on the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 03 | The 200-inch reflecting telescope at the Palomar Mountain Observatory in California is dedicated. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 28 | US announced a study to launch an Earth satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 29 | US State Department announces work on placing objects into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
- 1949
| Jan 26 | First test photograph at Mt. Palomar observatory. | Ref: 10 |
| Feb 01 | 200" (5.08-meter) Hale telescope first used. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 24 | At White Sands, New Mexico a captured German V-2 rocket was launched. Its warhead did not contain the usual package of instruments and cameras, but a smaller U.S. Army rocket known as the Wac Corporal. As the V-2 reached the end of its fuel supply, it dropped away. The Wac Corporal ignited and pushed up to a record height of 250 miles. | Ref: 5 |
| May 01 | Gerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune). | Ref: 5 |
| May 03 | First firing of a US Viking rocket; reached 80 km. | Ref: 5 |
| May 14 | Truman signs bill establishing a rocket test range at Cape Canaveral. | Ref: 5 |
- 1950
| Jul 24 | V-2/WAC Corporal rocket launch; first launch from Cape Canaveral. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 30 | First congress of Internat'l Astronautical Federation opens in Paris. | Ref: 5 |
- 1951
| Sep 29 | S B Nicholson discovers 12th satellite of Jupiter. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | First rocket to intercept an airplane, White Sands, NM. | Ref: 5 |
- 1952
| Apr 01 | Big Bang theory proposed in Physical Review by Alpher, Bethe & Gamow. | Ref: 5 |
- 1954
| May 24 | First rocket attains 150 mile (241 km) altitude, White Sands NM. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 10 | Lt Col John Strapp travels 632 MPH in a rocket sled. | Ref: 5 |
- 1955
| Feb 12 | Soviets decides space center built in Baikonur, Kazachstan. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 15 | The U.S. Air Force unveils the first self-guided missile. | Ref: 2 |
| May 15 | Building of space travel center at Baikonur Kazachstan begins. | Ref: 5 |
| May 31 | Construction begins on Soviet cosmodrome launch facilities. | Ref: 5 |
- 1956
| May 02 | US Lab detects high-temperature microwave radiation from Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 08 | First test firing of the Vanguard satellite program, TV-0. | Ref: 5 |
- 1957
| May 01 | Vanguard TV-1 booster test reaches 195 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | USSR launches first intercontinental multistage ballistic missile. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 19 | The first balloon flight to exceed an altitude of 100,000 feet is made by D. G. Simons at Crosby, Minnesota. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 04 | Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, is launched, beginning the "space race." The satellite, built by Valentin Glushko, weighed 184 pounds and was launched by a converted Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Sputnik orbited the earth every 96 minutes at a maximum height of 584 miles. In 1958, it reentered the earth's atmosphere and burned up. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 23 | First test firing of Vanguard satellite launch vehicle, TV-3. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 03 | The Soviet Union launches Sputnik II with Laika, a dog and the first animal in space, aboard. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 04 | 2nd Soviet Earth-satellite launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 06 | America's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit fails when the Vanguard rocket blows upn on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 17 | The United States successfully test-fired the "Atlas" intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. | Ref: 5 |
- 1958
| Jan 04 | Sputnik 1 reenters the atmosphere and burns up . | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 31 | US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1; James van Allen discovers radiation belt. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 01 | The U.S. launches Explorer I, the first successful U.S. orbital launch. |
| Feb 05 | Vanguard TV-3 back-up launches into Earth orbit; reaches 6 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | Explorer 2 fails to reach Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 17 | Navy launches Vanguard 1 into orbit (2nd US), measures Earth shape. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 19 | Britain's first planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 26 | US Army launches America's third successful satellite, "Explorer III" | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 27 | The United States announces a plan to explore space near the moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 02 | The National Advisory Council on Aeronautics is renamed NASA. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 14 | Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 28 | Vanguard TV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed). | Ref: 5 |
| May 15 | USSR launches Sputnik III. | Ref: 5 |
| May 16 | Eli Beeding experiences 83 g deceleration on a rocket sled, New Mexico. | Ref: 5 |
| May 27 | Vanguard SLV-1 launched for Earth orbit (failed). | Ref: 5 |
| May 30 | Mariner 9 lifts off from Cape Kennedy en route to Mars. (XDG, p 4A, 5/30/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jun 26 | Vanguard SLV-2 launched for Earth orbit (failed). | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | Army launches 4th US successful satellite, Explorer IV | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 29 | The United States space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was authorized by Congress this day. | Ref: 17 |
| Aug 17 | Pioneer 0 USA Lunar Orbiter explodes at T +77 sec. | Ref: 40 |
-
| Oct 01 | Vanguard Project transferred from military to NASA. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 07 | The newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration officially named its manned space flight experiments Project Mercury. The program lasted for four and two thirds years and accomplished six successful manned flights. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | Pioneer 1 - USA Lunar Orbiter fails to reach escape velocity, the first spacecraft launched by NASA as official agency. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 06 | Pioneer 3 - USA Lunar Flyby fails to reach escape velocity. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 18 | First test project of SCOR (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment). | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 18 | First voice from space: recorded Christmas message by Eisenhower. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | First radio broadcast from space (President Eisenhower voice "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth & Good Will to Men Everywhere"). | Ref: 5 |
- 1959
| Jan 02 | Luna 1 - USSR Lunar Flyby is the first successful Lunar flyby. | Ref: 40 |
| Jan 04 | Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes first craft to leave Earth's gravity. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 22 | USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 27 | NASA selects 110 candidates for the first U.S. space flight. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 06 | The United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral. | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 17 | The United States launches its first weather station in space, Vanguard II.
The United States launches its first weather station in space, Vanguard II. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 28 | Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-1st polar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 03 | First US probe to enter solar orbit, Pioneer 4, is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | US Pioneer IV misses Moon & becomes 2nd (US first) artificial planet. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 06 | Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 09 | First known radar contact is made with Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 07 | Radar first bounced off sun, Stanford Calif. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 09 | NASA announced the selection of America's first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 13 | Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 13 | USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| May 28 | Congressional Committee of Astronautics meets Project 7 astronauts. | Ref: 5 |
| May 28 | Monkeys Able & Baker zoom 300 miles (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, became first animals retrieved from a space mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 22 | Vanguard SLV-6 launched for Earth orbit (failed). | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 07 | The United States launches Explorer 6, which sent back the first pictures of the Earth from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 12 | Luna 2 - USSR Lunar Hard Lander returned the first image of the Moon's hidden side. | Ref: 40 |
| Sep 13 | USSR's Luna 2 becomes first probe to contact another celestial body. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 14 | The Soviet probe Luna II becomes the first manmade object to reach the moon as it crashes into the lunar surface. (XDG, p 4A, 9/14/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Sep 15 | Luna 2 - USSR Lunar Hard Lander crashes on the Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Sep 17 | Transit 1A, first navigational satellite launched; failed to orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 18 | Vanguard 3 launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 28 | Explorer VI reveals an intense radiation belt around the Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 04 | USSR Luna 3 sent back first photos of Moon's far side. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 06 | Soviet Luna 3, 1st successful photographic spacecraft, impacts Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 07 | Luna 3 - USSR Lunar Far Side Flyby returns a photograph of the far side of the Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Oct 18 | Soviets announce their probe took photos of the far side of the Moon | Ref: 62 |
| Oct 21 | Dr. Wernher Von Braun arrives at NASA. | Ref: 3 |
| Dec 01 | A camera mounted on the nose of a Thor missile took the first color picture of Earth from space. The nose cone then plummeted to Earth with the camera and washed up on a beach in the Bahamas in February 1960. | Ref: 3 |
- 1960
| Jan 21 | Little Joe 4 suborbital Mercury test reaches 16 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 28 | First photograph bounced off Moon, Washington DC. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 11 | Pioneer 5, a solar monitor, is launched. Ref | |
| Mar 23 | Explorer (8) fails to reach Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 01 | TIROS I (Television & Infra-Red Observation Satellite), TV’s original satellite robot-weatherperson, is launched into space to begin sending meteorological information back to earth. The GOES (geostationary operational environmental satellite) weather satellite is still up there above the clouds everyday, though other, more powerful satellites launched since then provide pictures and more exact climatological data. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 04 | Project Ozma begins at Green Bank radio astronomy center. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 11 | First weather satellite launched (Tiros 1). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 13 | Transit 1B, 1st navigational satellite, placed in Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 14 | The first navigational satellite is launched into Earth's orbit. | Ref: 2 |
| May 13 | First launch of Delta satellite launching vehicle; it failed. | Ref: 5 |
| May 14 | USSR launch first (unmanned) space capsule. | Ref: 5 |
| May 15 | Sputnik 4 launched into Earth orbit; later recovery failed. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 12 | Echo I, first passive satellite launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 12 | USSR's Sputnik 5 launched with 2 dogs. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 20 | USSR recovers 2 dogs, first living organisms to return from space | Ref: 62 |
| Aug 10 | Discoverer 13 launched into orbit; returned first object from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 11 | Discoverer 13 is launched by the U.S. Air Force, and the capsule parachutes back into the sea. | |
| Aug 12 | The first balloon satellite, Echo 1, was launched by the United States from Cape Canaveral, Fla. | Ref: 70 |
| Aug 13 | The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite. | Ref: 70 |
| Aug 15 | UFO is sighted by 3 California patrolmen. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 18 | The 1st photograph is bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 19 | The Russians sent Sputnik 5 with two dogs (Belka and Strelka) into earth orbit in a satellite. | Ref: 4 |
| Aug 20 | USSR recovers 2 dogs; first living organisms to return from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 08 | NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Center is named for General George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff during World War II, and a Nobel Prize winner for his post-World War II "Marshall Plan." | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 04 | Courier 1B launched; first active repeater satellite in orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 10 | Mars 1960A - USSR Mars Probe fails to reach Earth Orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Oct 14 | Mars 1960B - USSR Mars Probe fails to reach Earth Orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Oct 24 | Disaster on USSR launch pad kills missle expert Nedelin and his team (unconfirmed); USSR claims he was killed in plane crash | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 25 | Even though the Mercury program was still in its early stages and no man had yet flown in space, NASA let study contracts to three aerospace firms to study the feasibility of a lunar mission. The project was named Apollo. | |
| Nov 12 | The satellite Discoverer XVII is launched into orbit from California's Vandenberg AFB. | Ref: 3 |
| Nov 12 | Mercury-Redstone 1 test launch fails at 10 cm altitude. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 23 | Tiros 2, a weather satellite is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | Mercury-Redstone 1A reaches 210 km in test flight. | Ref: 5 |
- 1961
| Jan 31 | Ham was first primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2 | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 01 | First full-scale test of US Minuteman ICBM is successful. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 04 | Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 05 | The Soviets launch Sputnik V, the heaviest satellite to date at 7.1 tons. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 12 | Soviets launch Venera 1, the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. Contact was lost 7 days later. Venera 1 passed within 100,000 km of Venus on May 19-20, 1961. | Ref: 40 |
| Feb 13 | Soviet Union fires a rocket from Sputnik V to Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 16 | US satellite Explorer 9 is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 16 | First all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island VA. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | Mercury-Atlas 2 reentry test reaches 172 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 24 | Explorer (10) fails to reach Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 09 | First animal returned from space, a dog named Chernushka (Blackie) aboard Sputnik 9. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 25 | Explorer 10 launched into elongated Earth orbit (177/181,000 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 25 | Sputnik 10 carries a dog into Earth orbit; later recovered. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 12 | Soviets launch Vostok 1, the first manned spaceflight. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completes a single orbit. Gagarin's controls were locked to prevent him from taking control of ship. A key was available in a sealed envelope in case it became necessary to take control in an emergency. Gagarin ejected after reentry and descended under his own parachute, as was planned. However for many years the Soviet Union denied this, because the flight would not have been recognized for various FAI world records unless the pilot had accompanied his craft to a landing. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 25 | Mercury/Atlas rocket lifts off with electronic mannequin; when inertial guidance system fails 40 seconds after launch, rocket destroyed by range safety officer | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 27 | NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays. | Ref: 5 |
| May 04 | First on-the-road Spacemobile lecture given. | Ref: 5 |
| May 05 | Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America's first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight in a capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| May 08 | Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington | Ref: 2 |
| May 24 | Explorer (12) fails to reach Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| May 25 | "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." -- John F. Kennedy | Ref: 70 |
| May 27 | President Kennedy announces US goal to reach the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 30 | Explorer (12) fails to reach Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 06 | Soviets launch Titov in Vostok 2: 17 orbits, 25h 18m | Ref: 62 |
| Jul 21 | Virgil I "Gus" Grissom makes his 15:37 suborbital flight in Liberty Bell 7. The capsule is lost at sea. (XDG, p 4A, 7/21/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Aug 06 | Gherman S Titov, 2nd Russian in space aboard Vostok 2 (17 orbits), first case of motion sickness in space reported. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 07 | Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 23 | US lunar probe Ranger 1 reaches 190 km from Earth, falls back. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 13 | An unmanned Mercury capsule is orbited and recovered by NASA in a test. Mercury takes the first American into orbit in February, 1962. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 27 | 1st Saturn launch vehicle makes an unmanned flight test. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 18 | US Ranger 2 launched to Moon; failed. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 29 | NASA launches a chimpanzee named Enos into Earth orbit aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft which made two orbits before returning to Earth. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 07 | NASA announces a plan to extend the existing manned space flight program by development of a two-man spacecraft. The Gemini Program was conceived after it became evident to NASA officials that an intermediate step was required between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program. | |
| Dec 12 | Ham radio satellite Oscar 1 launched with military Discoverer 36. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | Boeing starts work on the Saturn V first stage booster for the Apollo program. | |
- 1962
| Jan 26 | The United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon, but the probe missed its target by some 22,000 miles. | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 20 | John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule. His fligh lasts 4:55:23 and 3 orbits. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 26 | After becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn told a joint session of Congress "Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge have always paid dividends in the long run." (XDG, p 4A, 2/26/2004) | Ref: 83 |
| Mar 07 | Launch of OSO 1, first astronomy satellite (solar flare data). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 16 | First launching of Titan 2-rocket. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | Ranger 4 - USA Lunar Hard Lander is the first US lunar impact of the Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Apr 24 | The Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a television signal, between Camp Parks, Calif., and Westford, Mass. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 25 | US Ranger spacecraft crash lands on the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | US/UK launch Ariel; first international payload. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | Ranger 4 crash lands on (backside of) Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| May 08 | First Atlas Centaur Launch | Ref: 2 |
| May 09 | A laser beam is successfully bounced off the moon for the first time. | Ref: 2 |
| May 24 | Scott Carpenter orbits the earth three times. Only the second American to achieve Earth orbit. This three-orbit flight runs 4 hrs, 56 minutes abord "Aurora Seven". (TWA, 1964) | Ref: 95 |
| Jun 01 | Oscar 2 (ham radio satellite) launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 10 | Bell Telephone's Telstar I was launched from Cape Canaveral FL, becoming the first private telecommunications satellite. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 10 | Cosmonaut Micolaev sets record for longest space flight, 4 days. | Ref: 62 |
| Jul 11 | Cosmonaut Micolaev set then record longest space flight 4 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 12 | Cosmonaught Popovich enters space; first time 2 manned craft in space simultaneously | Ref: 62 |
| Jul 22 | First US Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 23 | The Telstar communications satellite sent the first live TV broadcast to Europe. The bird was used to send TV programs between the United States and Europe. | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 27 | Mariner 2 launched toward Venus flyby mission | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 28 | Mariner I launched to Mars falls into Atlantic Ocean. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 05 | First quasar located by radio. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 11 | The Soviet Union launch cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev on a 94-hour flight. He is the third Russian in space aboard Vostok 3. (XDG, p 4A, 8/11/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Aug 12 | Russia launches Vostok 4, Pavel Popovich, who lands safely Aug 15. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 27 | Mariner 2, Venus fly-by, launches from Cape Canaveral. This is the first U.S. interplanetary spacecraft. | Ref: 40 |
| Sep 17 | US space officials announce selection of 9 new astronauts. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 01 | US National Radio Astronomy Obs gets a 300' (91m) radio telescope. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 03 | Walter M. Schirra makes his 9:13:11, 6 orbit flight in Sigma 7. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | US/USSR signed an agreement for joint space effort in telecommunications and meteorology; pact was never fullfilled | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 18 | US launches Ranger 5 for lunar impact; misses Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 24 | Mars 1962A - USSR Mars Flyby. Spacecraft failed to leave Earth orbit after the final rocket stage exploded. | Ref: 40 |
| Nov 01 | USSR launches Mars 1; radio contact lost before it arrives at Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 04 | Mars 1962B - USSR Mars Lander. Fails to leave Earth orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 13 | Relay 1 communication satellite launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 14 | Mariner 2 flies by Venus. Mariner 2 arrived at Venus at a distance of 34,800 kilometers and scanned its surface with infrared and microwave radiometers, capturing data that showed Venus's surface to be about 800°F. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 19 | Transit 5A1, first operational navigational satellite, launched. | Ref: 5 |
- 1963
| Jan 03 | Mariner 2, the Venus fly-by, sends its last transmission. | Ref: 40 |
| Jan 04 | Soviet Luna (4) reaches Earth orbit but fails to reach Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 05 | Soviet lunar probe failure. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 14 | US launches communications satellite Syncom 1. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 02 | Luna 4 - USSR Lunar Probe. Lunar 4 was intended to be a lunar lander but missed the Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Apr 02 | Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km). | Ref: 5 |
| May 07 | The United States launched the Telstar Two communications satellite. | Ref: 6 |
| May 15 | L. Gordon Cooper makes his 1d:10:19:49, 22.5 orbit flight in Faith 7. This is the last Mercury mission. (XDG, p 4A, 5/15/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| May 16 | After 22 Earth orbits, Gordon Cooper returns to Earth, ending the last mission of Project Mercury. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 14 | Valery Bykovsky in Vostok 5 orbits earth 81 times in 5 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 16 | Valentina Tereshkova, 26, becomes the first woman in space aboard Vostok 6 in a three-day mission. Tereshkova was not permitted to take manual control of the spacecraft as had been planned, due to dissatisfaction with her performance in orbit. (XDG, p 4A, 6/16/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jun 19 | Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova returned to Earth after spending nearly three days as the first woman in space. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 19 | 2 Russian space missions return to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | US Syncom 2, first geosynchronous communications satellite, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 20 | President Kennedy proposed a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition to the moon. | Ref: 64 |
| Nov 28 | U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced in a televised address that Cape Canaveral would be renamed Cape Kennedy in memory of President John F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated six days earlier. President Johnson said the name change had been sanctioned by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. Johnson also ordered the space facility to be renamed John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA. | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 02 | First Dutch rocket launched/reaches height of 10 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | The Explorer satellite was launched | Ref: 62 |
- 1964
| Jan 25 | Echo 2, US communications satellite launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 29 | Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 30 | Ranger 6 - USA Lunar Hard Lander. Cameras failed; lunar probe impacted the surface of the Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Mar 20 | ESRO established, European Space Research Organization. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 02 | USSR's Zond 1, Venus fly-by, is launched. Communications lost en route. | Ref: 40 |
| Apr 08 | Unmanned Gemini 1 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| May 28 | Unmanned Apollo 2 Saturn test launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 30 | Centaur 3 launch vehicle fails to make Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 28 | Ranger 7, USA Lunar Hard Lander, is launched toward the Moon; sent back 4308 TV pictures. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 31 | Ranger 7 - USA Lunar Hard Lander. Arrives at the Moon, sends pictures back at a close range, and impacts the Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Aug 19 | NASA launches Syncom 3 communications satellite which relays the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games from Tokyo. | |
| Sep 04 | NASA launches its first Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1) | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | The Soviet Union launches Voskhod 1 into orbit around the Earth, with cosmonauts Vladamir Komarov, Konstantin Feoktistov, and Boris Yegorov aboard. The Voskhod 1 is the first spacecraft to carry a multi-person crew, and the two-day mission is also the first flight performed without space suits. | Ref: 5 |
-
| Nov 05 | Mariner 3 - USA Mars Flyby. Mars flyby attempt. Solar panels did not open, preventing flyby. | Ref: 40 |
| Nov 28 | The United States launched the space probe Mariner 4 on a course to Mars. (XDG, p 4A, 11/28/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Nov 30 | Zond 2 - USSR Mars Flyby. Contact is lost en route. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 15 | First time 4 people in space. | Ref: 5 |
- 1965
| Jan 20 | JPL proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars & return. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 22 | US launches TIROS 9 weather satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 27 | First ground station-to-aircraft radio communication via satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 03 | Orbiting Solar Observatory 2 launches into Earth orbit (552/636 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 16 | Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 17 | Ranger 8 - USA Lunar Hard Lander launch, will transmit 7,137 lunar pictures. | Ref: 40 |
| Feb 20 | Ranger 8 - USA Lunar Hard Lander arrives and sends back 7000 high-resolution pictures until it impacted in Mare Tranquillitatis. | Ref: 40 |
| Feb 22 | USSR launches Kosmos 57 into earth orbit (Voskhod Test). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 18 | The first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov left his Voskhod Two capsule, secured by a tether. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 21 | Ranger 9 - USA Lunar HARD Lander. Lunar probe sens 5814 pictures before it impacts on the moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Mar 23 | Astronaut John Young becomes the first man to eat a corned beef sandwich in outer space. | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 23 | America's first two-person space flight began as Gemini 3 blasted off from Cape Kennedy with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 24 | US Ranger 9 strikes Moon, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of crater Alphonsus. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 01 | Syncom 3, first geosynchronous communications satellite, passes from civilian to military control. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 06 | The United States launched the Early Bird, the first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 16 | Test flight of heavy Saturn S-1C-rocket. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | First Soviet communications satelite launched | Ref: 5 |
| May 01 | USSR launches Luna 5; later impacts on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| May 02 | The "Early Bird" satellite was used to transmit television pictures across the Atlantic. | Ref: 5 |
| May 03 | First use of satellite TV, Today Show on the Early Bird Satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| May 09 | Luna 5 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander. The lunar soft-lander failed and impacted the moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Jun 01 | A Penzias & R Wilson detect 3ř K primordial background radiation (residual from the Big Bang). | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 03 | Astronaut Edward White became the first American to "walk" in space, during the flight of "Gemini Four." | Ref: 70 |
| Jun 07 | Gemini 4 completes 62 orbits. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 08 | Luna 6 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander missed the moon and is now in solar orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Jul 14 | The Mariner 4 Mars flyby returns 22 pictures of the Martian surface plus atmospheric data. | Ref: 40 |
| Jul 15 | The Mariner IV spacecraft sent back the first close-up pictures of the planet Mars. | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 18 | Zond 3 - USSR Lunar Flyby returned pictures of the lunar far side. It is now in a solar orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Jul 21 | Gemini 5 launched atop Titan V: Cooper & Conrad | Ref: 62 |
| Jul 29 | Gemini 5 returned after 12d 7h 11m 53s. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 21 | Gemini 5 launched into Earth orbit (2 astronauts). | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 29 | Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles ("Pete") Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after eight days in space. | Ref: 70 |
| Oct 04 | USSR launches Luna 7; crash lands on Moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Oct 05 | The USAF made its first successful launch of an orbiting satellite. | Ref: 50 |
| Nov 12 | Venera 2 launched by Soviet Union toward Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 15 | Venera 3, a Soviet probe is launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan en route to Venus. | Ref: 3 |
| Nov 16 | Venera 3 launches, 1st to land on another planet (crashes into Venus). | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 26 | France launches first satellite, 92 lb (42 kg) A1-capsule (Asterix). | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | First French satellite launched, France becomes 3rd nation in space. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 03 | USSR launches Luna 8; crashes on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 04 | The United States launched "Gemini Seven" with Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Frank Borman and Navy Commander James A. Lovell aboard. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | Two US manned spacecraft, "Gemini Six" and "Gemini Seven," maneuvered to within ten feet of each other while in orbit. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 16 | Pioneer 6 - USA Solar Probe.The Probe is still transmitting from solar orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 16 | Gemini 6 returns to Earth | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 17 | David Levy begins his search for comets. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 18 | Gemini VII splashed down in the western Atlantic Ocean with command pilot Frank Borman and pilot Jim Lovell Jr. on board. They had blasted off Dec 4 on a mission of physiological testing and spacecraft performance evaluation. | Ref: 4 |
- 1966
| Jan 31 | Luna 9 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander landed on the lunar surface and retuned the first photographs from the surface. | Ref: 40 |
| Feb 03 | Soviet Luna 9 achieves soft landing on the moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 03 | 1st operational weather satellite, ESSA-1 launched (US). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 17 | French satellite Diapason D-1A launch into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 22 | Soviets launch Kosmos 110 with Veterok & Ugolek, 1st 2-dog crew. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 01 | Venera 3, a Soviet probe launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on November 15, 1965, collides with Venus, the second planet from the sun. Although Venera 3 fails in its mission to measure the Venusian atmosphere, it is the first unmanned spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet. | Ref: 3 |
| Mar 16 | Gemini 8 launched with Armstrong & Scott, aborted after 6.5 orbits. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 31 | Luna 10 - USSR Lunar Orbiter is currently in a lunar orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Apr 02 | Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes 1st spacecraft to orbit Moon | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 03 | Soviet Union announces success of Luna 10, first spacecraft to achieve lunar orbit | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 08 | OAO 1, the first orbiting astronomical observatory, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 30 | Surveyor 1 - USA Lunar Soft Lander was the first American soft landing on the lunar surface. | Ref: 40 |
| May 30 | US launches Surveyor 1 to the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 02 | US Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum; first lunar soft-landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 03 | Gemini 9 launched; 7th US 2-man flight (Stafford & Cernan). | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 06 | Gemini 9 completes 45 orbits after rendezvous with 'angry alligator', (Agena with undetached launch shroud): Stafford and Cernan | Ref: 62 |
| Jun 08 | Gemini astronaut Gene Cernan attempts to become the first man to orbit the Earth untethered to a space capsule, but is unable to when he exhausts himself fitting into his rocket pack. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 25 | Kosmos 122, first Soviet weather satellite, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 05 | Saturn I rocket launched at Cape Kennedy. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 10 | Orbiter 1 launched toward Moon | Ref: 5 |
-
| Jul 18 | Launch of Gemini X, John Young and Mike Collins. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 21 | Gemini X returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 10 | Lunar Orbiter 1 - USA Lunar Orbiter orbited the moon, photographed the far side, and then impacted on command. | Ref: 40 |
| Aug 14 | First US lunar orbiter begins orbiting the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 17 | Pioneer 7 - USA Solar Probe was turned off in the mid 1990's. | Ref: 40 |
| Aug 23 | Lunar Orbiter 1 takes first photograph of Earth from Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 24 | Luna 11 - USSR Lunar Orbiter is currently in a lunar orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Aug 25 | Orbiter-1 transmits first photo of Earth as seen from Moon. | Ref: 10 |
| Sep 12 | Gemini 11 achieves rendevous and docking during first orbit | Ref: 62 |
| Sep 15 | Gemini XI returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 20 | Surveyor 2 - USA Lunar Soft Lander failed and impacted the moon. | Ref: 40 |
| Sep 26 | Japan launches its first satellite in to space | Ref: 62 |
| Oct 11 | Gemini 12 launched on 4-day flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 22 | Luna 12 - USSR Lunar Orbiter is in lunar orbit. | Ref: 40 |
| Oct 26 | First Pacific communications satellite launched, Intelsat 2. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 06 | Lunar Orbiter 2 - USA Lunar Orbiter orbited the moon, photographed the far side for potential Apollo landing sites, then impacted on command. | Ref: 40 |
| Nov 07 | Lunar Orbiter 2 launched by US. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 11 | "Gemini 12" blasts off from Cape Kennedy, Florida, with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Junior aboard. It takes the first solar eclipse photos from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 15 | The flight of "Gemini 12" ends successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Junior splashed down safely in the Atlantic. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 16 | (and 17th) Probably one of biggest meteor showers in history in the northern latitudes of the Pacific (also on the night of the 17th) | Ref: 62 |
| Dec 15 | Audouin Dollfus discovers 10th satellite of Saturn, Janus. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 21 | Luna 13 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander lands on the lunar surface in Oceanus Procellarum. | Ref: 40 |
| Dec 24 | Luna 13, a Soviet research vehicle soft-lands on the moon. | Ref: 2 |
- 1967
| Feb 04 | US launches Lunar Orbiter 3. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 05 | Lunar Orbiter 3 - USA Lunar Orbiter orbited the moon, photographed the far side for potential Apollo 12 landing sites, then impacted on command. | Ref: 40 |
| Feb 08 | French Diadčme D-1C satellite launches into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 15 | French Diadčme 1-D satellite launches into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 17 | Kosmos 140 (Soyuz test) launches into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 05 | ATS II launched but fails to reach orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 17 | Surveyor 3 launched; soft lands on Moon, April 20. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 19 | US Surveyor III lands on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | US Surveyor 3 lands on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | Soyuz 1 launched; Vladimir Komarov becomes first in-flight casualty when its parachute lines became tangled and the parachutes failed to open properly upon return to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | San Marco 2 Launch (1st Equatorial Launch). | Ref: 5 |
| May 04 | Lunar Orbiter 4 launched by US; begins orbiting Moon May 7. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 12 | USSR launches Venera 4 for parachute landing on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 14 | USSR launches Kosmos 166 for observation of Sun from Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 14 | Launch of Mariner V for Venus fly-by. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 14 | Surveyor 4 launched to Moon; explodes just before landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 19 | US launches Explorer 35 for lunar orbit (800/7400 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 02 | US's Lunar Orbiter 5 launched; enters lunar orbit Aug 5. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 06 | Mariner 5 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a flight that will take it past Venus. (XDG, p 4A, 6/14/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Sep 08 | Surveyor 5 launched; makes soft landing on Moon Sept 10. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 09 | 1st successful test flight of a Saturn V. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 10 | Surveyor 5 makes soft landing on Moon. | |
| Sep 11 | US Surveyor 5 makes first chemical analysis of lunar material. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 30 | USSR's Kosmos 186 & 188 complete the first automatic docking. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 18 | Soviet Venera 4 becomes the first probe to send data back from Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 19 | Mariner 5 makes fly-by of Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 30 | USSR Kosmos 186 & 188 make first automatic docking & Venmera 13 launch. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 05 | US ATS-3 takes first pictures of full Earth disk | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 06 | US launches Surveyor 6; makes soft landing on Moon Nov 9. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 09 | NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launches Apollo 4 into orbit with the first successful test of a Saturn V rocket. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 17 | The American Surveyor 6 makes a six-second flight on the moon, the first liftoff on the lunar surface. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 01 | Queen Elizabeth inaugurates 98-inch (249-cm) Isaac Newton telescope. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 12 | US launches Pioneer 8 into solar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 20 | All operations of the Mariner 4 spacecraft ceased. | Ref: 40 |
- 1968
| Jan 06 | Surveyor 7 (last of series) launched by US for soft-landing on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 07 | Surveyor 7 is launched. It lands on the Moon near the lunar crater Tycho two days later. This marks the end of American unmanned exploration of the Moon's surface. | Ref: 40 |
| Jan 09 | The Surveyor 7 space probe made a soft landing on the moon, marking the end of the American series of unmanned explorations of the lunar surface. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| Jan 10 | US Surveyor 7 lands near lunar crater Tycho. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 11 | Explorer 36 (GEOS-B) launched into earth orbit (1080/1570 km). | Ref: 5 |
-
-
| Jan 17 | Soyuz 4 & 5 completed 1st docking of 2 manned spacecraft. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 22 | Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 31 | Apollo 14, piloted by astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, and Stuart A. Roosa, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a manned mission to the moon. | Ref: 3 |
| Feb 09 | Surveyor 7 space probe soft lands on the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 24 | The first pulsar is discovered (CP 1919 by Jocelyn Burnell at Cambridge). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 29 | Jocelyn Burnell, of Cambridge University, discovers the first pulsar (CP 1919). | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 02 | USSR launches space probe Zond 4; fails to leave Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 5 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | US launches Solar Explorer 2 to study the Sun. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 04 | Apollo 6 is launched atop Saturn V; unmanned. | Ref: 5 |
| May 17 | European Space Research Organization launches first satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 14 | USSR's Zond 5 was launched on first circumlunar flight | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 15 | Launch of Zond 5, the first lunar flyaround with Earth reentry. Probable test flight for a manned fly-around (scooped by Apollo 8). | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 17 | Zond 5 completes lunar circumnavigation | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 22 | Zond 5 completes flight | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | The U.S. launched Apollo 7 the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. Described by commander Walter M. Schirra, Jr. as a “magnificent flying machine,” Apollo 7 travelled some 4.5 million miles in orbit around the Earth to become the first manned flight in NASA’s lunar-landing program. The mission also featured the first live TV transmission from a spacecraft in orbit. | Ref: 4 |
| Oct 14 | The first live telecast from a manned US spacecraft was transmitted from "Apollo Seven." | Ref: 70 |
| Oct 22 | "Apollo Seven" returns safely, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 10 | Launch of Zond 6, 2nd unmanned circumlunar & return flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 18 | The Soviets recover the Zond 6 spacecraft after a flight around the moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 07 | Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 21 | Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard. | Ref: 3 |
| Dec 23 | Borman, Lovell & Anders become first men to orbit Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 24 | The "Apollo Eight" astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve television broadcast. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 24 | The first pictures of an Earth-rise over the moon are seen as the crew of Apollo 8 orbits the moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 27 | "Apollo Eight" and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific. This was man's first trip to the moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 28 | Apollo 8 and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific. | Ref: 64 |
- 1969
| Jan 05 | USSR Venera 5 launched for first successful planet landing (Venus). | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 10 | USSR's Venera 6 launched for parachute landing on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 14 | Soyuz 4 launched; rendezvous with Soyuz 5 two days later. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 15 | Soyuz 5 launched by Soviet Union. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 16 | Soviet Soyuz 4 & Soyuz 5 perform first transfer of crew in space. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 18 | Soyuz 5 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 22 | Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 23 | NASA unveils moon-landing craft. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 30 | US/Canada launch ISIS 1 to study ionosphere | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 08 | Meteorite weighing over 1 ton falls in Chihuahua, México. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | First launching of heavy N-1 rocket at Baikonur Kazachstan (explodes). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 24 | Mariner 6 is launched for Mars fly-by. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 25 | Mariner 6 launched for fly-by of Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 03 | Apollo 9 blasts off from Cape Kennedy on a 10-day mission to test the lunar module. | Ref: 17 |
| Mar 06 | Schweickart and McDivitt are first astronauts to transfer from one spacecraft to another. | Ref: 10 |
| Mar 13 | "Apollo Nine" astronauts splash down, ending a mission that included the successful testing of the Lunar Module. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 26 | The Soviet weather Satellite Meteor 1 is launched. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 27 | Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190 miles above southern Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| May 10 | Apollo 10 transmit first color pictures of Earth from space | Ref: 2 |
| May 16 | Venera 5 lands on Venus, returns data on atmosphere. | Ref: 5 |
| May 17 | Russian probe Venera 6 landed on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| May 18 | Apollo 10 launches toward lunar orbit with Eugene Stafford, Thomas Cernan and John Young. | Ref: 5 |
| May 22 | The lunar module of Apollo 10 separated from the command module and flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing. | Ref: 70 |
| May 26 | The "Apollo Ten" astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing. | Ref: 2 |
| Jul 13 | Russia launches unmanned Luna 15 to Moon | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 16 | Apollo 11 blasts off from Cape Kennedy, Florida, heading for a landing on the moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Jul 19 | "Apollo Eleven" and its astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, go into orbit around the moon. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 20 | Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon. Michael Collins pilots the orbiting spacecraft. (XDG, p 4A, 7/20/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jul 20 | President Richard Nixon places first earth-to-moon telephone call. | Ref: 10 |
| Jul 21 | Astronauts Neil Armstrong steps on the moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT). He and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin blast off from the moon aboard the lunar lander. (XDG, p 4A, 7/21/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jul 21 | Russia's Luna 15 impacts moon after 52 lunar orbits. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 22 | USSR launches Sputnik 50 & Molniya 1-12 communications satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 24 | The Apollo 11 astronauts, two of whom had been the first men to set foot on the moon, splashed down safely in the Pacific. | Ref: 70 |
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| Jul 29 | Mariner 6 begins transmitting far-encounter photos of Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | Mariner 6 flies past Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 31 | Mariner 6 flies past Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 05 | The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | Soyuz 6 launched; Soyuz 7 & 8 follow in next 2 days. | Ref: 5 |
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| Oct 16 | Soyuz 6 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 17 | Soyuz 7 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 18 | Soyuz 8 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 14 | The United States launches Apollo 12, the second mission to the Moon, from Cape Kennedy. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 19 | Apollo 12 touches down on the moon. Charles Conrad, Jr., and Alan L. Bean become the third and fourth humans to walk on the surface of the moon. | Ref: 3 |
| Nov 24 | Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the moon, successfully returns to earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean only three miles from one of its retrieval ships, the U.S.S. Hornet. | Ref: 3 |
| Dec 17 | The U.S. Air Force officially closes its Project "Blue Book" by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings. | Ref: 70 |
- 1970
| Jan 23 | Australia's first amateur radio satellite (Oscar 5) launched (California). | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 23 | US launches 2nd generation weather satellite, ITOS 1. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 11 | From the Kagoshima Space Center on the east coast of Japan’s Ohsumi Peninsula, Ohsumi, Japan’s first satellite, is successfully launched into an orbit around the earth. Japan becomes the 4th nation to put a satellite in orbit. | Ref: 3 |
| Feb 19 | USSR launches Sputnik 52 & Molniya 1-13 communications satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 11 | Apollo 13, with astronauts Lovell, Haise, Swigert, blast off on its ill-fated mission to the moon. (The astronauts managed to return safely). | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 13 | Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.) (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 17 | The astronauts of Apollo 13 (Lovell, Swigert and Haise) splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 24 | The People's Republic of China launched its first satellite, which kept transmitting a song, "The East is Red." | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 01 | Soyuz 9 launched into Earth orbit for 18 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 19 | Andrian Nikolayev and Vitalii Sevastyanov return after 18 days in Soyuz 9. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 17 | Venera 7 launched by USSR for soft landing on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 12 | USSR launches Luna 16; returns samples from lunar Sea of Fertility. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 20 | Luna 16 lands on Moon's Mare Fecunditatis, drills core sample. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 21 | Luna 16 leaves the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 24 | The Soviet Luna 16 lands, completing the first unmanned round trip to the moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 28 | US/USSR sign an agreement to discuss joint space efforts. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 10 | The Luna 17, was launched by the former Soviet Union. The unmanned spacecraft landed and released Lunakhod 1 (eight-wheel, radio-controlled vehicle) on the Moon's Sea of Rains to explore the lunar surface and send data back to Earth. Ref | |
| Nov 17 | Soviet unmanned Luna 17 touches down on the moon. Lunokhod 1, a self-propelled vehicle controlled by Soviet mission control on earth, rolled out of the Luna landing probe, and became the first wheeled vehicle to travel on the surface of the moon. | Ref: 3 |
| Nov 18 | Russia lands self propelled rover on the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 12 | Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 42 launched to study X-rays. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | Venera 7 becomes the first human spacecraft to soft-land on the Venus, successfully sending back images and data for twenty-three minutes before succumbing to the extremely high temperature and atmosphere pressure found on the planet’s surface. | Ref: 3 |
- 1971
| Jan 31 | Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon. | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 04 | Apollo 14 lander Antares lands on Moon (Shepard & Mitchell). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 05 | Apollo 14, 3rd US manned Moon expedition, lands near Fra Mauro; Alan Shepard & Edward Mitchell (Apollo 14) walk on the Moon for 4 hours. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 06 | NASA Astronaut Alan B. Shepard took a six-iron that he had stashed away inside his spacecraft and swung at three golf balls on the surface of the moon. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 09 | The "Apollo 14" spacecraft returns to Earth after man's third landing on the moon. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 01 | US/Canada ISIS II launched to study the ionosphere | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 19 | The Soviet Union launches Salyut 1. This was the first in a series of civilian and military space stations that the USSR would operate for over a decade. Salyut 7, the last of the series was launched in 1982 . It is no longer manned but it is still in orbit. | Ref: 5 |
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| Apr 23 | The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 10, becoming the first in Salyut 1 space station. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 24 | Soyuz 10 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 29 | Boeing receives contract for Mariner 10, Mercury exploration. | Ref: 5 |
| May 19 | USSR launches Mars 2, first spacecraft to crash land on Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| May 25 | USSR launches Mars 3 to Mars | Ref: 62 |
| May 28 | USSR Mars 3 launched, first spacecraft to soft land on Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| May 30 | The American space probe "Mariner Nine" blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Florida, on a journey to Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 06 | Soyuz 11 takes 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 1 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 07 | Soviet Soyuz 11 crew completes first transfer to orbiting Salyut. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | Soyuz 11 docks with Salyut 1 for 22 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | Apollo 15 launched to the Moon | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | US Apollo 15 lands on Mare Imbrium on the Moon. This marks the first time the Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV), sort of a lunar dune buggy, was used. The ride lasted about two hours. | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 31 | The first men to ride in a vehicle on the moon did so on this day in the LRV (lunar rover vehicle). This example of a lunar dune buggy carried Apollo 15 astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin for five miles on the lunar surface. Their first stop at the rim of Elbow Crater was televised back to Earth to millions of viewers. The Apollo 15 moon ride lasted two hours. | Ref: 4 |
| Aug 04 | US launches first satellite into lunar orbit from manned spacecraft. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 07 | Apollo 15 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 31 | Dave Scott becomes first person to drive a car on the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 28 | England becomes 6th nation to have a satellite (Prospero) in orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 13 | Mariner 9, first to orbit another planet (Mars). | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | Soviet Mars 2 becomes first spacecraft to crash land on Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 02 | Soviet Mars 3 is 1st to soft land on Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | NASA launches Intelsat 4 F-3 for COMSAT Corp. | Ref: 5 |
- 1972
| Jan 02 | Mariner 9 begins mapping Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 05 | President Richard M. Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the development of a reusable ‘low cost’ space shuttle system. He signed a $5.5 billion dollar bill for its creation. | Ref: 4 |
| Jan 07 | President Richard Nixon ordered development of the space shuttle. | Ref: 70 |
| Jan 31 | US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 14 | Luna 20 (Russia) launched to orbit & soft landing on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 26 | Soviets recover Luna 20 with a cargo of moon rocks. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 02 | Pioneer 10 is launched from Cape Canaveral. Ref | |
| Mar 15 | NASA selects 3 part configuration for Space Shuttle. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 27 | Venera 8 launched to Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 16 | Apollo 16 launched, 5th lunar landing at Descartes Highlands: with astronauts Young, Mattingly, Duke. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | Apollo 16's Young & Duke land on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 21 | Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explore the surface of the moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 21 | Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 4 (Copernicus) launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 22 | Apollo astronauts John Young & Charles Duke ride on the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | Apollo 16 astronauts explore the Moon's surface. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 27 | Apollo 16 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | USSR launches Prognoz 2 into earth orbit (549/200,000 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 22 | Venera 8 makes soft landing on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 23 | First Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 09 | Rockwell receives NASA contract to construct the Space Shuttle. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 21 | US orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 03 | Spaceflight 71-2 launched; first flexible substrate photovoltaic | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | Mariner 9 takes pictures of Martian north pole. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 15 | Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 48 launched to study gamma rays. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 07 | The crew of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the Moon, lifts off at Cape Canaveral, Florida. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 11 | Challenger, the lunar lander for Apollo 17, touches down on the moon's surface, the last time that men visit the moon. Astronauts Cernan & Harrison become 11th & 12th on the Moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 13 | Astronaut Gene Cernan climbs into his Lunar Lander on the Moon and prepares to lift-off. He is the last man to set foot on the Moon. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 14 | Eugene Cernan & Harrison Schmitt leave the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | Apollo 17 splashes down in the Pacific, ending the Apollo program of manned lunar landings. | Ref: 70 |
- 1973
| Jan 08 | USSR launches Luna 21 for Moon landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 09 | Luna 21 launched, to Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 16 | USSR's Lunakhod 2 begins radio-controlled exploration of the Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 09 | Luna 21 launched, to Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 15 | USSR launches Prognoz 3 to study sun (589/200,300 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 07 | Comet (Lubos) Kohoutek discovered at Hamburg Observatory. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 06 | Pioneer 11 launched toward Jupiter & Saturn. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | Canadian ANIK A2 became first commercial satellite in orbit | Ref: 5 |
| May 14 | The United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station. | Ref: 70 |
| May 18 | Florida Governor Rueben Askew signed a Florida statute requiring that Cape Kennedy be renamed Cape Canaveral. The name John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA was not changed. | Ref: 4 |
| May 25 | US launches first Skylab; crew Kerwin, Conrad, Weitz. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 10 | NASA launches Radio Astronomy Explorer 49 into lunar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 22 | Skylab astronauts splash down safely in the Pacific after a record 28 days in space. | Ref: 2 |
| Jul 21 | USSR launches Mars 4 for fly-by (2600 km) of the red planet. | Ref: 5 |
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| Jul 28 | Skylab 3's astronauts (Bean, Garriott & Lousma) launched. | Ref: 5 |
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| Aug 23 | Intelsat communications satellite launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 25 | The three-man crew of Skylab II makes a safe splashdown in Pacific after 59 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 27 | Soyuz 12 carries 2 cosmonauts into Earth orbit (2 days) | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 29 | Soyuz 12 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 03 | Mariner 10 launched-1st Venus pics, 1st mission to Mercury. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 10 | NASA launches Mariner 10, the Mercury fly-by. | Ref: 3 |
| Nov 16 | Skylab 3, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on an 84-day mission. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 03 | Pioneer 10, launched on March 2nd, 1972, achieves its closest approach to Jupiter (1st fly-by of an outer planet). | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 18 | Soyuz 13 launched into Earth orbit for 8 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 23 | Comet Kohoutek reached its perihelion. | Ref: 62 |
| Dec 25 | U.S. astronauts onboard the Skylab space station take a seven-hour walk in space and photograph the comet Kohoutek. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 26 | 2 Skylab 3 astronauts walk in space for a record 7 hours. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 26 | Soyuz 13 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 30 | First picture of a comet from space (Comet Kohoutek-Skylab). | Ref: 5 |
- 1974
| Feb 05 | US Mariner 10 returns first close-up photos of Venus' cloud structure. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 08 | Skylab astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue land on Earth after spending a record 84 days in orbit. (XDG, p 4A, 2/8/2001) | Ref: 83 |
| Feb 11 | Titan-Centaur test launch fails. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 18 | NASA launches Italian satellite San Marcos C-2 (235/843 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 29 | The unmanned U.S. space probe Mariner 10, launched by NASA on November 3, 1973, becomes the first spacecraft to visit the planet Mercury, sending back close-up images. | Ref: 3 |
| May 17 | NASA launches first synchronous Meteorological satellite SMS-1 | Ref: 62 |
| May 20 | Soyuz 14 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 03 | Soyuz 14 carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | USSR's Soyuz fails to dock with Salyut 3 | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 26 | Soyuz 15 carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 3. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 28 | Soyuz 15 returns to Earth | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 14 | Jovina moon Leda discovered by Charles Kowal | Ref: 62 |
| Sep 21 | US Mariner 10 makes 2nd fly-by of Mercury. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 16 | 1st intentional interstellar radio message sent, Arecibo telescope towards M 41, a cluster of stars some 25,000 light years away. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 30 | Pioneer 11 sends photos back to NASA as it nears Jupiter. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 02 | Soyuz 16 launched into Earth orbit for 6 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 04 | Pioneer 11 passes within 34,000 km of Jupiter's cloud tops. | |
| Dec 08 | Soyuz 16 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 10 | Helios 1 launched by US, Germany; later makes closest flyby of Sun. | Ref: 5 |
- 1975
| Jan 05 | Salyut 4, crew of 2, launched for 30 day mission | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 11 | Soyuz 17 carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 4. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 22 | Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 09 | Soyuz 17 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 16 | US Mariner 10 makes 3rd & final fly-by of Mercury. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 19 | India launches 1st satellite with help of USSR. | Ref: 5 |
| May 07 | Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 53 launched to study X-rays. | Ref: 5 |
| May 24 | Soyuz 18B carries 2 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 4. | Ref: 5 |
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| May 30 | European Space Agency (ESA) forms. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 08 | USSR launches Venera 9 for Venus landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 14 | USSR launches Venera 10 for Venus landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 21 | Soyuz 19 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 15 | Three American astronauts blast off aboard an Apollo space ship hours after two Soviet cosmonauts are launched in a Soyez spacecraft for a mission that included a linkup of the two ships in orbit. (XDG, p 4A, 7/15/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jul 17 | An Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower linkup of its kind. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 19 | The "Apollo" and "Soyuz" space capsules that were linked in orbit for two days separated. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 24 | The Apollo 18 spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific, completing a mission which included the first-ever docking with a "Soyuz" capsule from the Soviet Union. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | Soyuz 18B returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 20 | Launch of Viking 1, first craft to send pictures from surface of Mars | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 29 | Star in Cygnus goes nova and becomes 4th brightest in sky; Nova Cygni 1975 | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 09 | Viking 2 launched toward orbit around Mars, soft landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | NASA launches space vehicle S-195. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 17 | First Space Shuttle main engine test at Natl Space Tech Labs, Miss. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 21 | Venera 9, first craft to orbit the planet Venus launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 22 | Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 soft-lands on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 25 | USSR's Venera 10 makes day-side Venus landing. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 05 | NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed. | Ref: 5 |
- 1976
| Jan 15 | US-German Helios B solar probe launched into solar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 17 | Hermes rocket launched by European Space Agency. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 07 | World's largest telescope (236 in or 600 cm) begins operation (USSR). | Ref: 5 |
| May 22 | NASA launches space vehicle S-179. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 19 | US Viking 1 goes into Martian orbit after 10-month flight from Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 06 | Soyuz 21 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 5 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 07 | Viking 2 goes into orbit around Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 18 | Thiokol conducts 2-min firing of space shuttle's SRB at Brigham, Ut. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 20 | Viking 1 lands on Mars. It was the first spacecraft to reach the red planet. Data collected by Viking 1 and Viking 2 (landed September 3, 1976) showed Mars to be a barren, rocky planet. Viking I will continue working for six and a half years. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 07 | US Viking 2 goes into Martian orbit after 11-month flight from Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 07 | Scientists in Pasadena, Calif, announce Viking I found strongest indications to date of possible life on Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 09 | USSR launches Luna 24, last Lunar flight to date from Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 18 | USSR's Luna 24 soft-lands on Moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 24 | Soyuz 21 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 01 | NASA launches space vehicle S-197. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 03 | The unmanned US spacecraft "Viking Two" landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet's surface. (Viking 1 landed on Mars on July 20th.) | Ref: 70 |
| Sep 13 | 2nd Enterprise, approach & lands test (ALT) flight (5m28s). | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 15 | Soyuz 22 carries 2 cosmonauts into Earth orbit for 8 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 17 | NASA publicly unveils the world's first reusable spacecraft--the space shuttle Enterprise in a ceremony in Palmdale, California. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 23 | Soyuz 22 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | 4th Space Shuttle Enterprise, approach & land test (ALT) flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 14 | Soyuz 23 carries 2 to Salyut 6, but returns without docking. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 16 | Soyuz 23 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 25 | 5th Enterprise, approach & lands test (ALT) flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 25 | Viking 1 radio signal from Mars help prove general theory of relativity. | Ref: 5 |
- 1977
| Feb 02 | Burn up of Salyut 4 Space Station (USSR). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 07 | Soyuz 24 launches with 2 cosmonauts. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 18 | The space shuttle Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its maiden flight above the Mojave Desert. | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 25 | Soyuz 24 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 26 | First flight of Space Shuttle (atop a Boeing 747). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 10 | Rings of Uranus discovered during occultation of SAO. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 29 | British Aerospace forms. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 18 | Space Shuttle test model "Enterprise" carries a crew aloft for first time, It was fixed to a modified Boeing 747. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 12 | First free flight test of space shuttle Enterprise. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 12 | High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1 launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 13 | First test glide of the shuttle. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 05 | Voyager 1 is launched from Cape Canaveral (Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2.) | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 13 | 2nd test of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 18 | The Voyager I spacecraft (launched on Sep 5, 1977 from cape Canaveral, FL) snapped the first photograph showing the earth and moon together. (As of Feb 17, 1998, Voyager I is further away from Earth than any other man-made object.) | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 20 | Voyager 2 launched for fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 23 | 3rd test of Space Shuttle Enterprise. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 29 | Soviet space station Salyut 6 launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 09 | Soyuz 25 launched to Saluyt 6, but returned after failing to dock. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | Soyuz 25 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | 4th test of the space shuttle Enterprise. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 22 | International Sun-Earth Explorers 1 & 2 launched into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 26 | The experimental space shuttle "Enterprise" glided to a bumpy but successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 27 | NASA launches space vehicle S-200. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 23 | European weather satellite Meteosat 1 launched from Cape Canaveral. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 10 | Soyuz 26 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 20 | 1st Space walk made by G Grechko from Salyut. | Ref: 5 |
- 1978
| Jan 10 | Soyuz 27 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 11 | Soyuz 27 links up with Soyuz 26 and the orbiting space station Salyut 6 making the first time that three space craft are linked | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 13 | NASA appoints first women astronaut; six women hired to perform medical tasks on space shuttles. | Ref: 10 |
| Jan 16 | NASA names 35 candidates to fly on the space shuttle, including Sally K Ride, who became America's first woman in space and Guion S Buford, Jr, who becam black astronaut in space. (XDG, p 4A, 1/16/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Jan 16 | Soyuz 27 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 18 | Thiokol conducts 2nd test firing of space shuttle's SRB. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 26 | International Ultraviolet Explorer placed in Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 02 | Soyuz 28 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Czechoslovakian) to Salyut 6. Czech pilot Vladimir Remek becomes the first non-Russian, non-American in space. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 05 | Landsat 3 launched from Vandenberg AFB, California. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 10 | Soyuz 28 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 16 | Soyuz 26 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 31 | USSR launches Kosmos 1000 navigational satellite | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | NASA launches space vehicle S-201. | Ref: 5 |
| May 20 | US launches Pioneer Venus 1, produces first global radar map of Venus | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 15 | Soyuz 29 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6; they stay 139 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 22 | James Christy's discovery of Pluto's moon Charon announced. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 26 | First dedicated oceanographic satellite, SEASAT 1, launched | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 27 | US Seasat 1, first oceanographic satellite, launched into polar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 27 | Soyuz 30 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Polish) to Salyut 6 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 05 | Soyuz 30 spacecraft touches down in Soviet Kazakhstan. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 08 | Pioneer-Venus 2 Multi-probe launched to Venus | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 29 | Pioneer 11 transmits images of Saturn & its rings. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 08 | The US launched "Pioneer Venus Two," which carried scientific probes to study the atmosphere of Venus. | Ref: 5 |
-
| Aug 26 | Soyuz 31 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 East German) to Salyut 6. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 03 | Crew of Soyuz 31 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 29. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 21 | Two Soviet cosmonauts set a space endurance record after 96 days in space. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 13 | Tiros N, US's first 3rd generation weather satellite, is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 02 | Crew of Soyuz 29 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 31. | Ref: 5 |
-
| Dec 04 | Pioneer Venus 1 goes into orbit around Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 05 | The American space probe "Pioneer Venus One," orbiting Venus, began beaming back its first information and picture of the planet. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 09 | Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus. | Ref: 5 |
- 1979
| Feb 12 | Kosmos 1076, first Soviet oceanographic satellite, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 18 | NASA launches space vehicle S-202. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | Japan launches Hakucho x-ray satellite & Corsa-B (550/580 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 25 | Soyuz 32 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | US Voyager I photo reveals Jupiter's rings. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | Voyager I's closest approach to Jupiter (172,000 miles) and discovers rings. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 07 | Voyager 1 reaches Jupiter. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 08 | First extraterrestrial volcano discovered (Jupiter's satellite Io) by Voyager 1. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 08 | Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) transported 38 miles overland from Palmdale. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 20 | Columbia flies on Shuttle carrier aircraft to Kennedy Space Center. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 24 | Columbia flown on aircraft carrier lands at Kennedy Space Center. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 05 | Pioneer 11 launched towards Jupiter. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 10 | Soyuz 33 launched with a Russian & a Bulgarian. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 12 | Soyuz 33 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| May 04 | NASA launches Fltsatcom-2. | Ref: 5 |
| May 05 | Voyager 1 passes Jupiter. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 02 | NASA launches space vehicle S-198. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 07 | Bhaskara 1, Indian Earth resources/meteorology satellite, launched | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 15 | First space shuttle SRB qualification test firing; 122 seconds. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 08 | Voyager 2 takes first ever photo of Jupiter's satellite Adrastea (J14). | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 09 | Voyager 2 flies past Jupiter. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 11 | The abandoned United States space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| Aug 19 | Soyuz 32 Cosmonauts Lyakhov & Ryumin complete a record 175-day space flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 31 | Comet Howard-Koomur-Michels collides with the Sun, the 1st recorded occurrence of such an event (energy=1 mil hydrogen bombs). | Ref: 62 |
| Sep 01 | Pioneer 11 makes 1st fly-by of Saturn, within 21,000 km from Saturn's cloud tops, discovers new moon, rings. Ref | |
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| Dec 24 | First Ariane-rocket launched. | Ref: 5 |
- 1980
| Jan 17 | NASA launches Fltsatcom-3. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 14 | US launches Solar Maximum Mission Observatory to study solar flares. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | Earth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of supernova N-49. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 18 | Vostok rocket exploded on launch pad while being refueled, killing 50. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 09 | Soyuz 35 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6. | Ref: 5 |
| May 18 | China People's Republic launch first intercontinental rocket. | Ref: 5 |
| May 26 | Soyuz 36 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Hungarian) to Salyut 6. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 03 | Crew of Soyuz 36 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 35. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 05 | Soyuz T-2 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 09 | Soyuz T-2 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 18 | Rohini 1, first Indian satellite, launches into orbit | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 23 | Soyuz 37 ferries 2 cosmonauts (1 Vietnamese) to Salyut 6 | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | Soyuz 37 crew returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 36. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 31 | Soyuz 37 crew returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 36. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 18 | Soyuz 38 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Cuban) to Salyut 6 space station. The Cuban is Cosmonaut Arnoldo Tamayo, a Cuban, who becomes the first black to be sent on a mission in space. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 19 | Titan II missile explosion (Damascus, AR). | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 26 | Soyuz 38 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 01 | Cosmonauts Ryumin & Popov break space endurance record of 176 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 10 | Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope network dedicated | Ref: 62 |
| Oct 11 | Cosmonauts Popov and Ryumin set space endurance record of 184 days | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 30 | NASA launches Flt Satcom-4. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 08 | Voyager 1 space probe discovers 15th moon of Saturn. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 10 | Voyager I flies past Saturn | Ref: 62 |
| Nov 11 | Crew of Soyuz 35 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 37. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 12 | Voyager 1 comes within 77000 miles of Saturn and heads out of the plane of the solar system, with luck it will transmit useful data until 2015 | Ref: 70 |
| Nov 26 | Columbia mated to SRBs & external tank at Vehicle Assembly Building. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | Soyuz T-3 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 06 | NASA launches Intelsat V. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 10 | Soyuz T-3 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 29 | Shuttle STS-1 moves from Vandenberg AFB to Launch Complex 39A. | Ref: 5 |
- 1981
| Feb 20 | The space shuttle "Columbia" cleared the final major hurdle to its maiden launch as the spacecraft fired its three engines in a 20-second test. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | Japan launches Hinotori satellite to study solar flares (580/640 k). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | NASA launches Comstar D-4. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 06 | Soyuz 39 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 12 | Soyuz T-4 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 19 | One technician is killed and two others are injured during a routine test on space shuttle Columbia. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 22 | Soyuz 39 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Mongolian) to Salyut 6. | Ref: 5 |
-
| Apr 09 | The long-awaited maiden launch of the space shuttle "Columbia" was scrubbed because of a computer malfunction. | Ref: 6 |
| Apr 10 | The long-awaited maiden launch of the space shuttle "Columbia" is scrubbed because of a computer malfunction. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 12 | The first space shuttle, Columbia—a winged, reusable manned spacecraft that can support scientific missions and carry payloads in its cargo bay—lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, flown by astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 14 | The first test flight of America's first operational space shuttle, the "Columbia," ended successfully with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 16 | Columbia space shuttle returns. | Ref: 5 |
| May 14 | NASA launches space vehicle S-192 | Ref: 5 |
| May 15 | Soyuz 40 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Rumanian) to Salyut 6. | Ref: 5 |
| May 22 | Soyuz 40 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| May 23 | NASA launches Intelsat V | Ref: 5 |
| May 26 | Soyuz T-4 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 19 | India's APPLE satellite, first to be stabilized on 3 axes, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 19 | European Space Agency's Ariane carries 2 satellites into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 25 | Voyager 2 encounters Saturn | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 04 | Columbia mated with SRBs & external tank for STS-2 mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 06 | NASA launches Fltsatcom-5, it failed. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 25 | The U.S. spacecraft Voyager 2 came within 63,000 miles of Saturn's cloud cover, sending back pictures and data about the ringed planet. During the passage its scanning platform jams. Study of the problem during the trip to Uranus provides a near perfect encounter there. | Ref: 70 |
| Aug 26 | Space Shuttle vehicle moves to Launch Complex 39A for STS-2 mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 19 | Satellites China 10 & 11 launched into Earth orbit by B-1 rocket. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 04 | Columbia shuttle launch scrubbed with 31 secs remaining. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 12 | The 2nd shuttle mission-1st time spacecraft launched twice (Columbia 2). | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 14 | 2nd Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 2-returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 11 | Spacelab I arrives at Kennedy Space Center. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | NASA launches Intelsat V. | Ref: 5 |
- 1982
| Feb 03 | Columbia Shuttle moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating for STS-3 mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 16 | Assembled STS-3 vehicle moves from Vandenberg AFB to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 01 | Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus, sends back data. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | NASA launches Intelsat V. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus sends back data. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 22 | 3rd Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 3 is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 30 | 3rd space shuttle mission-Columbia 3 lands at White Sands NM | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 06 | Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center from White Sands. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 12 | U.S. launches world's first space shuttle Columbia with Astronauts Robert L. Crippen & John Young. | Ref: 10 |
| Apr 19 | Astronauts Sally K. Ride and Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first woman and first African-American to be tapped for U.S. space missions. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 19 | USSR Salyut 7 space station put into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 22 | Launch of STS-3-Lousma & Fullerton [03/23]. | Ref: 5 |
| May 03 | NY Times reports that military will get 25% of NASA's budget. | Ref: 5 |
| May 13 | Soviet cosmonauts Berezovoi and Lebedev depart Baikonur Cosmodrome to begin 211 days in space, most of them aboard Salyut-7 space statio | Ref: 5 |
| May 16 | Columbia moves to Vandenberg Air Force Base for mating in preparation for STS-4. | Ref: 5 |
| May 25 | STS-4 vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | Jean-Loup Chretien, first spacionaut, lifts off with two cosmonauts for an eight day visit to the Salyut 7 space station | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 27 | 4th Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 4 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 30 | Orbiter Challenger (OV-099) rolled out at Palmdale. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 01 | Challenger moves overland to Dryden. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 01 | Kosmos 1383, first search & rescue satellite, launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 02 | Soyuz T-6 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 04 | 4th Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 4 lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 05 | Challenger flies to Kennedy Space Center via Ellington AFB, TX | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 15 | Columbia flies to Kennedy Space Center via Dyess AFB, Texas. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 16 | NASA launches Landsat 4 to thematic map the Earth | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 19 | Soyuz T-7 launched, Svetlana Savtiskaya 2nd woman in space. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 26 | NASA launches Telesat-F. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 27 | Soyuz T-7 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 09 | Columbia mated with SRBs & external tank in preparation for STS-5. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 09 | Conestoga 1, first private commercial rocket, makes suborbital flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 21 | STS-5 vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 28 | NASA launches Intelsat V. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | 5th space shuttle mission-Columbia 5-launched first commercial flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 16 | Mt Palomar Observatory first to detect Halley's comet on 13th return. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 19 | Columbia moves to Orbiter Processing Facility. | Ref: 5 |
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| Nov 11 | 5th space shuttle mission-Columbia 5-launched 1st commercial flight. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 16 | The space shuttle Columbia completes its first operational flight when it lands at Edwards AFB, CA. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 22 | Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB, TX. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 23 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB and mated for STS-6. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 30 | STS-6 vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 10 | Soyuz T-5 returns to Earth, 211 days after take-off. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 18 | Flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 20 seconds. | Ref: 5 |
- 1983
| Jan 22 | 2nd flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 22 seconds. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 23 | Russian radioactive satellite falls into Indian Ocean. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 25 | Infrared telescope satellite launched into polar orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 26 | Dutch/British infrared satellite IRAS launched from California. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 20 | Japan launches Tenma satellite to study x-rays (450/570 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 04 | The space shuttle "Challenger" roared into orbit on its maiden voyage. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 07 | STS-6 mission specialist Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform first spacewalk in a decade as they work in the open bay of the Challenger for nearly four hours. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 09 | The space shuttle Challenger ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California | Ref: 5 |
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| Apr 17 | India enters space age launching SLV-3 rocket. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | Soyuz T-8 launched; mission aborted when capsule fails to dock with Salyut station | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 22 | Soyuz T-8 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 25 | The "Pioneer Ten" spacecraft crossed Pluto's orbit, speeding on its endless voyage through the Milky Way. | Ref: 70 |
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| May 19 | NASA launches Intelsat V. | Ref: 5 |
| May 21 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg Air Force Base, for mating for STS-7 mission. | Ref: 5 |
| May 26 | Challenger moves to launch pad for STS-7. | Ref: 5 |
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| Jun 13 | Pioneer 10, already in space for 11 years, flies past Neptune and becomes first man-made object to leave Solar System. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 14 | Pioneer 10, launched on March 2nd, 1972, leaves the solar system. | Ref: 3 |
| Jun 16 | European Space Agency launches European Comm Satellite 1, Oscar 10. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 18 | Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, beginning her ride aboard the space shuttle Challenger for a six-day Odyssey. | Ref: 4 |
| Jun 22 | First time a satellite is retrieved from orbit by Space Shuttle. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | 7th Space Shuttle Mission-Challenger 2 lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 27 | NASA launches space vehicle S-205. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 27 | Soyuz T-9 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 28 | NASA launches Galaxy-A. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 26 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating for STS-8. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 28 | NASA launches Telstar-3A. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | STS-8: 3rd flight of Challenger, first night launch and land | Ref: 62 |
| Aug 02 | STS-8 vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 08 | Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. | Ref: 2 |
| Aug 30 | Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford, Jr. becomes first African-American American in space as 8th Space Shuttle Mission-Challenger make first night liftoff of shuttle program | Ref: 70 |
| Sep 05 | 8th Space Shuttle Mission-Challenger 3-lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
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| Sep 09 | Challenger returns to Kennedy Space Center via Sheppard AFB, TX. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 22 | NASA launches Galaxy-B. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 23 | Columbia moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating in preparation of STS-9. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 26 | Cosmonauts Titov and Strekalov are saved from their exploding Soyuz T-10 booster by the launch escape system | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 28 | STS-9 vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 13 | The Space Shuttle Challenger, carrying seven, the largest crew to date, lands safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shuttles are the highest, fastest airplanes. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 17 | STS-9 vehicle moves to Vandenberg AFB due to SRB nozzle problem. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 19 | Columbia moves to Orbiter Processing Facility. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 05 | Orbiter Discovery (OV-103) moves overland to Dryden. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 06 | Discovery transported to Vandenberg AFB, CA. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 08 | STS-9 vehicle again moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 09 | Discovery flies from Vandenberg AFB to Kennedy Space Center. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 25 | Soyuz T-9 returns to Earth, 149 days after take-off. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 28 | 9th Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 6-is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 08 | 9th Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 6-lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | Columbia flies to Kennedy Space Center via El Paso, Kelly AFB. | Ref: 5 |
- 1984
| Jan 06 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 41 B mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 11 | STS 41-B vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 25 | President Reagan endorses the development of the first U.S. permanently-manned space station. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 29 | Space Shuttle 41-B (STS-11) Challenger launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 03 | 10th Space Shuttle Mission (41B)-Challenger 4 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 07 | While in orbit around the earth, Navy Captain Bruce McCandless becomes the first human being to fly untethered in space when he exits the U.S. space shuttle Challenger and maneuvers freely using a rocket pack of his own design. | Ref: 3 |
| Feb 08 | Soyuz T-10 launches with crew of 3 to Salyut 7, first time for 8 people to be in space at one time. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 11 | 10th space shuttle mission (41-B)-Challenger 4-returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 01 | NASA launches Landsat-D Prime (Landsat 5) to thematic map the Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 14 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 41-C mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 19 | STS 41-C vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 03 | Soyuz T-11 carries 3 cosmonauts (1 Indian-Rakesh Sharma) to Salyut 7. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 06 | 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41-C)-Challenger 5 is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 10 | Damaged Solar Max satellite snared by Challenger shuttle. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 11 | Celestial mechanics "Pinky" Nelson and "Ox" van Hoffen repair Solar Max satellite during 7 hour EVA in payload bay. | Ref: 62 |
| Apr 11 | Soyuz T-11 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 12 | Challenger astronauts made the first satellite repair in orbit by returning a healthy Solar Max satellite to space. The orbiting sun watcher had been circling the Earth for three years with all circuits dead before repairs were made. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 13 | 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41C)-Challenger 5-returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 18 | Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| May 11 | Transit of Earth as seen on Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| May 12 | Discovery (OV-103) from Orbiter Processing Facility to Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC, for mating for 41-D (STS-14)" for the first use of this Shuttle (OV-103). | Ref: 5 |
| May 19 | STS 41-D vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 02 | Flight readiness firing of Discovery's main engines. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 09 | NASA launches Intelsat V, it failed. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 10 | US missile shot down an incoming missile in space for first time. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 25 | STS 41-D launch attempt scrubbed because of computer problem | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 26 | First flight of Shuttle Discovery (41-D) scrubbed at T -4s | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 03 | Dolphin rocket launched off San Clemente Island | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 14 | STS 41-D vehicle moves to Vandenberg AFB for remanifest of payloads. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 17 | Soyuz T-12 carries 3 cosmonauts to space station Salyut 7 | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 18 | First women to walk in space: Svetlana Savitskaya accompanies Vladimir Dzhanibekov on EVA outside Salyut 7 | Ref: 62 |
| Jul 25 | Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 30 | STS-14: first flight of Discovery | Ref: 62 |
| Aug 09 | STS 41-D vehicle again moves out to the launch pad | Ref: 5 |
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| Aug 27 | President Reagan announces the Teacher in Space project. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 30 | 12th Space Shuttle Mission (41-D)-Discovery 1-launched (6 days); maiden voyage of Discovery carrying first non-astronaut Charlie Walker. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 05 | The space shuttle Discovery completed its first flight as it landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California | Ref: 62 |
| Sep 08 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 41G mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 10 | Discovery returns to Kennedy Space Center via Altus AFB, Okla. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 13 | STS 41-G launch vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 21 | NASA launches Galaxy-C. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 02 | 3 cosmonauts return after a record 237 days in orbit | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 05 | 13th Space Shuttle Mission (41-G)-Challenger 6-launched carrying the first Canadian, Marc Garneau, into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 09 | Kathy Sullivan becomes first US woman to walk in space | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | Space-shuttle Challenger astronaut Dr. Kathy Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform an EVA (extra-vehicular activity), or walk in space. | Ref: 4 |
| Oct 13 | STS 41-G mission; lands at Kennedy Space Center. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 18 | Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51A mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 23 | STS 51-A launch vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 24 | Intelsat 5 re-enters Earth's atmosphere 5 months after upper stage fails | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 07 | STS 51-A launch scrubbed because of high shear winds. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 08 | The first attempt to rescue two crippled satellites takes place as the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. | Ref: 4 |
| Nov 08 | Anna Fisher becomes the first "mom" to go into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 12 | Spacewalker Joseph Allen became the first astronaut to rescue a satellite. The Discovery space shuttle made the $35 million rescue. | Ref: 4 |
| Nov 14 | The Space Shuttle Discovery's crew rescues a second satellite. | Ref: 2 |
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| Nov 16 | 14th Shuttle Mission (51A) -Discovery 2- lands at Kennedy Center. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 10 | Natl Science Foundation reports discovery of first planet outside solar system 21m light years away | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 21 | USSR launches Vega 2 for fly-by of Halley's Comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 25 | The first man-made comet was visible in the sky. The sphere of chemicals from a West German satellite appeared to be yellowish-green and in the constellation Virgo. | Ref: 4 |
- 1985
| Jan 05 | Discovery moves to launch pad for STS 51-C mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 07 | Japanese space probe Sakigake launched to Halley's comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 08 | Japan launches Sakigake space probe to Halley's Comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 24 | 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 27 | 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 10 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-E mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 15 | STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | STS 51-E vehicle rolls back to Vandenberg AFB; mission cancelled. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 22 | NASA launches Intelsat VA. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 23 | Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-D mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 28 | International Cometary Explorer measures solar wind ahead of Halley's Comet | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 28 | STS 51-D vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 06 | Atlantis (OV-104) rollout at Palmdale. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 10 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-B mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 12 | Sen. Jake Garn of Utah became the first senator to fly in space as the 16th shuttle (51D)-Discovery 4 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 13 | Atlantis ferried to Kennedy Space Center via Ellington AFB, Texas. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 15 | Challenger moves to launch pad for 51-B missing. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 19 | 16th Space Shuttle Mission (51-D)-Discovery 4 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 29 | 17th space shuttle mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| May 06 | 17th Space Shuttle Mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 lands at Edwards Air Force Base. | Ref: 5 |
| May 10 | Challenger transports back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly Air Force Base | Ref: 2 |
| May 24 | Ferry flight, Enterprise (OV-101) from Vandenberg Air Force Base to Edwards Air Force Base CA. | Ref: 5 |
| May 28 | Discovery moves to Vandenberg Air Force Base for mating of STS 51-G. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 04 | STS 51-G vehicle moves to the launch pad | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 06 | Soyuz T-13 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 09 | USSR's Vega 1 deposits lander on surface of Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 15 | En route to Halley's Comet, USSR's Vega 2 drops lander on Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 17 | 18th Space Shuttle Mission (51-G)-Discovery 5 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | 18th Space Shuttle Mission (51-G)-Discovery 5 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-F. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 28 | Discovery ferried back to Kennedy Space Center via Bergstrom AFB, TX. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | NASA launches Intelsat VA. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | STS 51-F vehicle moves to the launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 02 | European Space Agency launches Giotto to Halley's Comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 02 | Proto launched to Halley's Comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 11 | Refurbished Columbia moves overland from Palmdale to Dryden. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 12 | STS 51-F launch scrubbed at T -3s because of main engine shutdown. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 14 | Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Offutt AFB, Neb. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 19 | Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire is chosen to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the space shuttle. (McAuliffe and six other crew members die when the "Challenger" exploded shortly after lift-off.) | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 29 | 19th Space Shuttle Mission (51-F)-Challenger 8-launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-I mission | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 02 | NASA launches space vehicle S-209. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 06 | 19th space shuttle mission (51-F), Challenger 8, lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 08 | Japan launches Planet A, a probe to Halley's comet. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 11 | Challenger flies to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 19 | Japan launches its 2nd probe of Halley's Comet, Suisei. | |
| Aug 24 | STS 51-I mission scrubbed at T -5m because of bad weather. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 25 | STS 51-I scrubbed at T -9m because of an onboard computer problem. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 27 | 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I)-Discovery 6-launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 29 | Atlantis moves to launch pad for the 51-J mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 03 | 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I)-Discovery 6-returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 08 | Discovery flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 11 | Intl Cometary Explorer (ISEE 3) passes Giacobini-Zinner by 7900 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 12 | Flight readiness firing of Atlantis' main engines; 20 seconds. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 17 | Soyuz T-14 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 28 | NASA launches Intelsat VA. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 03 | 21st Shuttle Mission (51J)-Atlantis 1-all-military flight launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 07 | 21st Space Shuttle Mission (51-J)-Atlantis 1 lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | Atlantis returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 12 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61A mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 15 | Shuttle Columbia carries Spacelab into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 16 | Challenger vehicle moves to the launch pad for STS 61A mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 25 | Kosmos 1700 communications satellite placed in geostationary orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 30 | The launch of the space shuttle "Challenger" was witnessed by schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who was fated to die when the spacecraft exploded after liftoff the following January. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 06 | 22nd Space Shuttle Mission (61A) -Challenger 9- lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 08 | Atlantis moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-B mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 11 | Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 12 | STS 61-B vehicle moves to the launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 18 | Enterprise (OV-101) flies from Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport Washington, DC, & turned over to the Smithsonian Institution. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 22 | Columbia moves to the Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-C. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 26 | 23rd Space Shuttle Mission (61-B)-Atlantis 2-is launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 01 | STS 61-C vehicle moves to launch pad. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 03 | 23rd Shuttle Mission (61-B)-Atlantis 2-lands at Edwards AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 07 | Atlantis returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 12 | NASA launches space vehicle S-207. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 16 | Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-L mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | STS 61-C scrubbed at T -13 seconds because of SRB auxiliary power problem. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 22 | STS 51-L vehicle moves to Launch Pad 39B. | Ref: 5 |
- 1986
| Jan 06 | STS 61-C scrubbed at T-31 seconds because of liquid oxygen valve problem. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 07 | STS 61-C mission scrubbed at T -9m because of weather problems. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 10 | STS 61-C mission scrubbed T -9m because of bad weather at Kennedy. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 12 | Space shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz. | Ref: 70 |
| Jan 18 | 24th Space Shuttle (61-C) Mission-Columbia 7-returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 23 | Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 24 | The Voyager 2 space probe swept past Uranus, coming within 50,679 miles of the seventh planet from the sun. The first photographs from space of planet Uranus reveal 15 moons 11 rings. | Ref: 17 |
| Jan 28 | 73 seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral, the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing seven astronauts. After a flawless liftoff, the Challenger, traveling at a speed of 2900 feet per second, soared nine miles into space when suddenly the ship’s liquid hydrogen tank exploded. Millions watched the tragedy unfold on TV. This catastrophe took the lives of Commanders Francis ‘Dick’ Scobee and Michael J. Smith, Dr. Judith A. Resnik, Dr. Ronald E. McNair, Lt. Colonel Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis and school teacher Christa McAuliffe. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 03 | President Reagan announces formation of Committee on Challenger Accident. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 09 | Halley's Comet reaches 30th perihelion (closest approach to Sun). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 19 | USSR launches Mir space station into Earth orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 20 | The base unit of the Soviet Mir space station was launched. Mir borrowed from the concepts of the earlier Salyut design, especially Salyut 7. Mir has been in operation for the past decade and has been visited by the U.S. Space Shuttle as part of development work on the International Space Station. | |
| Feb 24 | Voyager 2, 1st Uranus fly-by. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 06 | USSR's Vega 1 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,889 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 08 | Japanese probe Suisei passes Halley's Comet at 109,800 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 09 | Soviet probe Vega 2 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,030 km. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 09 | Navy divers find the crew compartment of the space shuttle Challenger along with the remains of the astronauts. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 11 | Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley's Comet at 6.8 million km. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 12 | Giotto encounters Comet Halley. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 13 | Soyuz T-15 carries 2 cosmonauts to Soviet space station Mir. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 14 | European Space Agency's Giotto flies by Halley's Comet (605 km). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 24 | NASA publishes "Strategy for Safely Returning the Space Shuttle to Flight Status". | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 11 | Halley's Comet makes closest approach to Earth this trip, 63 M km. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 18 | Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| May 03 | In NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket loses power in its main engine shortly after liftoff, forcing safety officers to destroy it by remote control. (Xenia Daily Gazette, p 4A, 5/3/2000) | Ref: 5 |
| May 12 | President Reagan appoints Dr James C Fletcher NASA Administrator | Ref: 5 |
| May 30 | Ariane-2 (ESA) launched | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 09 | The Rogers Commission released its report on the "Challenger" disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 11 | The Rogers Commission released its report on the Challenger disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 08 | NASA establishes Safety, Reliability Maintain & Quality Assurance. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 14 | NASA's plan to implement recommendations of Rogers commission. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 28 | NASA releases transcript from doomed Challenger, pilot Michael Smith could be heard saying, "Uh-oh!" as spacecraft disintegrated. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 15 | Pres Reagan decides to support a replacement for the Challenger. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 22 | NASA announces tests designed to verify ignition pressure dynamics. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 05 | NASA awards study contracts to 5 aerospace firms. | Ref: 5 |
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| Sep 10 | Bryan O'Connor named chairman of Space Flight Safety Panel | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 30 | Discovery moves to OPF where more than 200 modification are made. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 13 | NASA launches space vehicle S-199. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 04 | NASA launches Fltsatcom-7. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 12 | 24th space shuttle (61-C) mission-Columbia 7-launched. | Ref: 5 |
- 1987
| Jan 06 | Astronomers report sighting a new galaxy 12 billion light years away. | Ref: 2 |
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| Mar 20 | NASA launches Palapa B2P. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 26 | NASA launches Fltsatcom-6, it failed to reach orbit | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 28 | Stacking of Discovery's SRBs gets underway. | Ref: 5 |
| May 15 | First Energiya Launch (USSR). | Ref: 5 |
| May 28 | Stacking of Discovery's SRBs completed. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 10 | Discovery's SRBs and External Tank are mated. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 21 | Discovery rolls over from OPF to Vandenberg AFB. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 04 | Discovery moves to Launch Pad 39B for STS-26 mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 22 | Soyuz TM-3 launched with 3 cosmonauts (1 Syrian). | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 25 | USSR launches Kosmos 1870, 15-ton Earth-study satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 30 | (or 31st) Rockwell International awarded contract to build a 5th shuttle | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 03 | Discovery in Orbital Processing Facility is powered up for STS-26. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 10 | Flight Readiness Firing of Discovery's main engines is successful. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 24 | Announcement of possible Martian tornadoes. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 16 | NASA launches space vehicle S-209. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 21 | Soyuz TM-4 carries 3 cosmonauts (Musa Manarov, Anatoly Levchenko & Vladimir Titov) to space station Mir. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 29 | Yuri Romanenko, a Soviet cosmonaut, ends a record 326-day space flight. | Ref: 2 |
- 1988
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| Mar 15 | NASA reports accelerated breakdown of ozone layer by CFK. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 25 | NASA launches space vehicle S-206. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 25 | NASA launches space vehicle S-211. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 15 | NASA launches space vehicle S-213 | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 07 | Soviet Union launches Phobos 1 to probe Martian moon (unsuccessful). | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 12 | USSR launches Phobos II for Martian orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 21 | ESA's Ariane-3 launches 2 communications satellites (1 Indian). | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 29 | Judge orders NASA to release unedited tape from Challenger cockpit. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 08 | Discovery of most distant galaxy (15 billion light yrs distant) announced. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 25 | Challenger Center opens its classroom doors in Houston. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 25 | NASA launches space vehicle S-214. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 29 | USSR launches 3 cosmonauts (Valery Polyakav, 1 Afghan) to station Mir | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 06 | Crippled soviet Soyuz TM-5 lands safely with 2 cosmonauts aboard | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 19 | Israel launches first satellite, for secret military reconnaissance | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 26 | US space shuttle STS-26 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 29 | The space shuttle "Discovery" blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking America's return to manned space flight following the "Challenger" disaster. | Ref: 70 |
| Oct 03 | 26th Space Shuttle Mission, Discovery 7 returns to Earth after 4-days | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 29 | Soviets first scheduled shuttle launch (postponed). | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 15 | 91 m radio telescope dish at Green Bank, WV collapses. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 15 | Soviet space shuttle makes unmanned maiden flight (2 orbits). | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 26 | Pioneer 6's closest approach to Earth since 1965 launch (1.87 M km). | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 02 | STS-27 Atlantis launched (Secret military mission). | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 05 | Shuttle Atlantis launches world's first nuclear-war-fighting satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 06 | STS-27 Atlantis lands in CA after secret mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 19 | NASA unveils plans for lunar colony & manned missions to Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 21 | Vladimir Titov, Anatoly Levchenko & Musa Manarov return to earth (a year) with Chretien. | Ref: 5 |
- 1989
| Jan 12 | The astronauts aboard the space shuttle "Columbia" retrieve an eleven-ton floating science laboratory in a rescue mission that kept the satellite from plunging to Earth. | Ref: 6 |
| Jan 16 | USSR announces plan for 2-year manned mission to Mars. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 18 | Astronomers discover pulsar in remnants of Supernova 1987A (LMC). | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 29 | USSR's Phobos II enters Martian orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 14 | World's first satellite Skyphone opens. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 13 | 27th shuttle, Discovery 8, launched, 1st woman to do the countdown. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 18 | 27th space shuttle mission, STS-29 (Discovery 8), returns to Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 29 | 1st US private commercial rocket takes suborbital test flight (New Mexico) | Ref: 5 |
| May 04 | US launches Magellan to Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| May 04 | US space shuttle STS-30 launched. | Ref: 5 |
| May 08 | US space shuttle STS-30 lands | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 30 | NASA closes down tracking stations in Santiago, Chile & Guam. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 28 | NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleve, announce new high-temperature superconductors able to operate at 33 to 37 Gigahertz. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 01 | Voyager begins its fly-by of Neptune | Ref: 62 |
| Aug 02 | NASA confirms Voyager 2's discovery of 3 more moons of Neptune designated temporarily 1989 N2, 1989 N3 &1989 N24 | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 08 | The space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a secret, five-day military mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 11 | Voyager 2 discovers 2 partial rings of Neptune. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 13 | US space shuttle STS-28 lands | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 21 | The U.S. space probe Voyager 2 fired its thrusters to bring it closer to Neptune's mysterious moon Triton. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 23 | Voyager 2 makes its closest approach to Neptune - 3042 miles | Ref: 62 |
| Aug 24 | The Voyager 2 space probe flys by Neptune sending back striking photographs. (XDG, p. 4A, 8/24/2001) | Ref: 83 |
| Aug 25 | Voyager 2 encounters Neptune, was thrown out of the solar plane and proceeds into deep space. With luck it will transmit useful data until 2015 | Ref: 62 |
| Aug 25 | Voyager 2 makes its closest approach to Neptune (0400 GMT). NASA scientists receive stuning photographs of Neptune and its moons from Voyager 2. | Ref: 2 |
| Sep 04 | The Air Force launches its last Titan 3 rocket, which reportedly carried a reconnaissance satellite. Since 1964, the Titan 3 had sent more than 200 satellites into space. | |
| Sep 30 | NASA closes down tracking stations in Hawaii & Ascension. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 09 | The official Soviet news agency Tass reported that a spaceship of some kind, complete with a trio of tall aliens, had visited a park in the city of Voronezh. | Ref: 70 |
| Oct 15 | The official Soviet news agency Tass reported that a spaceship of some kind, complete with a trio of tall aliens, had visited a park in the city of Voronezh. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 18 | US 62nd manned space mission STS 34 (Atlantis 5) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 23 | US 62nd manned space mission STS 34 (Atlantis 5) returns from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 22 | US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 27 | US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) returns from space. | Ref: 5 |
- 1990
| Jan 09 | 64th US manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 20 | US 64th manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returns from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 24 | Japanese MUSES-A (Hiten) launched towards moon. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 09 | 64th US manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 09 | Galileo flies by Venus. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 14 | Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system. | Ref: 5 |
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| Feb 28 | US 65th manned space mission STS 36 (Atlantis 6) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | US 65th manned space mission STS 36 (Atlantis 6) returns from space. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 24 | The space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., carrying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 25 | The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 29 | STS-31 (Discovery 10) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 30 | US 66th manned space mission STS 31 (Discovery 10) returns from space. | Ref: 5 |
| May 20 | The Hubble Space Telescope sends back its first photographs. (XDG, p 4A, 5/20/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jun 27 | NASA announced that a flaw in the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope was preventing the instrument from achieving optimum focus. | Ref: 64 |
| Aug 10 | US's Magellan spacecraft lands on Venus | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 06 | US 67th manned space mission STS 41 (Discovery 11) launches into orbit, carrying the $207 million Ulysses solar probe into space | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 10 | US 67th manned space mission STS 41 (Discovery 11) returns from space | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 15 | The space shuttle Atlantis is launched on a secret military mission. (XDG, p 4A, 11/15/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Nov 20 | The space shuttle Atlantis lands at Cape Canaveral after completing a secret mission for the military. (XDG, p 4A, 11/20/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 02 | US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
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| Dec 10 | The space shuttle Columbia returns from its 10th mission. (XDG, p 4A, 12/10/2000) | Ref: 83 |
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| Dec 11 | US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) returns from space. | Ref: 5 |
- 1991
| Mar 09 | US 70th manned space mission STS 39 (Discovery 12) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 05 | The space shuttle "Atlantis" blasted off on a mission that included the deploying of the second of "NASA's" Great Observatories. The government reported the nation's jobless rate surged to 6.8 percent in March. Former Texas Sen. John Tower, his daughter and 21 other people were killed in a commuter plane crash near Brunswick, Ga. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 07 | Compton Gamma Ray Observatory orbits Earth. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 11 | The space shuttle "Atlantis" landed safely after an extended, 93-orbit mission that included deployment of an observatory. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | NASA scrubbed the launch of the space shuttle "Discovery" after a sensor on one of the main engines failed during fueling. | Ref: 6 |
| Apr 28 | Space Shuttle STS 39 (Discovery 12) is launched with seven astronauts on a "Star Wars" research mission. | Ref: 5 |
| May 06 | Space Shuttle STS 39 (Discovery 12) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| May 13 | A trio of astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour capture a wayward satellite during the first ever three-person space walk. (XDG, 5/13/2001, p. 4A) | Ref: 83 |
| May 18 | Helen Sharman became the first Briton to rocket into space as she flew aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft with two cosmonauts on an eight-day mission. "Hansel" won the 116th running of the Preakness Stakes. | Ref: 6 |
| Jun 01 | NASA scrubbed the launch of the space shuttle "Columbia" after a navigational unit failed. | Ref: 6 |
| Jun 05 | The space shuttle Columbia (STS 40) blasted off with seven astronauts on a nine-day mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 14 | The space shuttle "Columbia" returned from a medical research mission. The government reported consumer prices had risen a modest three-tenths of one percent in May. Actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft died in London at age 83. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 24 | U of Manchester scientist announce finding a planet outside of the solar system | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 02 | Space shuttle STS 43 (Atlantis 9) launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 11 | Space shuttle STS 43 (Atlantis 9) lands | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 12 | Space shuttle STS 48 (Discovery 14) launched | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 18 | Space shuttle STS 48 (Discovery 14) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 10 | The space shuttle "Discovery" landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in CA, ending a virtually flawless four-day mission. | Ref: 6 |
| Nov 24 | The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Cape Canaveral with six astronauts and a military satellite. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 01 | US 75th manned space mission "STS 44" Atlantis 10 lands. | Ref: 5 |
- 1992
| Jan 22 | Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 25 | Hubble space telescope optics finds NGC3862/3C264. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 30 | Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 08 | Ulysses spacecraft passes Jupiter. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 13 | FCC rules companies can own 30 AM & 30 FM stations (formerly 12). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 17 | Russian manned space craft TM-14, launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 24 | First Belgian in the space, Dirk Frimout on Atlantis Space Shuttle STS-45 (Atlantis 11) launches into space. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 25 | Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay in the TM-14, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 02 | Space Shuttle STS-45 (Atlantis 11) lands | Ref: 5 |
| May 07 | US space shuttle STS-49 launched (maiden voyage of Endeavour). | Ref: 5 |
| May 13 | 3 astronauts simultaneous walked in space for the first time | Ref: 5 |
| May 16 | US space shuttle STS-49 lands (maiden voyage of Endeavour). | Ref: 5 |
| May 20 | India launches its first satellite independently. | Ref: 5 |
| May 22 | India launches its Agni rocket | Ref: 5 |
| May 24 | The space shuttle Atlantis returns to earth, bringing with it NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, who had spent 4 month aboard the Russian Mir space station. (XDG, p 4A, 5/24/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Jul 09 | The space shuttle Columbia lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending a two-week mission. (XDG, p 4A, 7/09/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Sep 02 | The United States and Russia agreed to build a space station. | Ref: 70 |
| Sep 12 | The space shuttle "Endeavour" blasted off, carrying Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space; Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space; and Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese national to fly on a US spaceship. | Ref: 6 |
| Dec 07 | Galileo spacecraft passes North Pole of Moon (Peary Crater). | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 08 | NASA takes first photo of four mile long speeding asteroid ‘Toutatis' only 2.2 million miles from Earth. | Ref: 10 |
| Dec 08 | Galileo's nearest approach to Jupiter (303 km). | Ref: 5 |
- 1993
| Jan 13 | STS-54 (Endeavour) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 19 | STS-54 (Endeavour) lands. | Ref: 5 |
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-
| Feb 04 | Russian space agency tests a 82' wide space mirror. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 28 | A Type II supernova detected in M81 (NGC 3031). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 08 | STS-56 (Discovery) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 17 | STS-56 (Discovery) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | STS-55 (Columbia) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| May 06 | STS-55 (Columbia) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 02 | Titan IV rocket explodes over Pacific after launch losing record $800 million spy-satellite cargo. | Ref: 10 |
| Aug 24 | NASA’s Mars Observer, which was supposed to map the surface of Mars, is declared lost. | |
| Sep 02 | The US and Russia formally end decades of competition in space by agreeing to a joint venture to build a space station. (XDG, p 4A, 9/02/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Sep 12 | The space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral on a 10-day mission. (XDG, p 4A, 9/12/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Sep 22 | The space shuttle Discovery and its five astronauts land at Kennedy Space Center, ending a 10-day mission. (XDG, p 4A, 9/22/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 02 | Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5), launches. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 05 | Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 13 | Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5) lands after repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 29 | Nearly three weeks after the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope was repaired by the crew the space shuttle Endeavour, scientists reported "absolutely no sign of problems". (XDG, p 4A, 12/29/2003) | Ref: 83 |
- 1994
| Jan 08 | Russian manned space craft TM-18, launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 14 | Russian manned space craft TM-17, lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 25 | US space probe Clementine launched. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 03 | The space shuttle Discovery lifts off, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a US spacecraft. (XDG, p 4A, 2/03/2004) | Ref: 83 |
| Feb 11 | Space shuttle STS-60 (Discovery 18), lands, after an eight-day mission. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16), launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 14 | Soyuz TM-21 launches with V Dezyurov, G Strekalov & N Thagard. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 18 | Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16), lands. | Ref: 5 |
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| Apr 09 | STS-59 (Endeavour) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 18 | STS-59 (Endeavour) lands [approximately]. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | Space shuttle STS-59 (Endeavour 6), lands. | Ref: 5 |
| May 03 | US space probe Clementine launched | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 09 | The space shuttle "Discovery" blasted off on an eleven-day mission. | |
| Sep 20 | Space shuttle "Discovery" and its six astronauts landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California after an eleven-day mission. | |
| Dec 10 | The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour deploy the repaired Hubble Space Telescope into Earth orbit. (XDG, p 4A, 12/10/2003) | Ref: 84 |
- 1995
| Jan 02 | Most distant galaxy yet discovered found by scientists using Keck telescope in Hawaii (estimated 15 billion light years away). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 02 | Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman space-shuttle pilot this day as the space shuttle Discovery (STS-63) blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Florida. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 03 | The space shuttle Discovery (STS-60) blasts off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, in the pilot's seat for the first time. (XDG, p 4A, 2/03/2004) | Ref: 83 |
| Feb 11 | Space shuttle STS-63 (Discovery 19), lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 02 | Space shuttle STS-67 (Endeavour 8), launches. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 14 | First time 13 people in space. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 14 | Astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to enter space aboard a Russian rocket as he and two cosmonauts blasted off aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, headed for the Mir space station. | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 16 | Astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to visit the Russian space station Mir. | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 18 | STS 67 (Endeavour 8) lands after 16 days. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | For the first time, a US space shuttle (Atlantis) linked up with a Russian space station (Mir). They remained docked until July 4. The joined craft were visible from earth as a fast-moving, shiny, star and carried a record 10 people (6 Americans and 4 Russians). | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 23 | Two astronomers, Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona, almost simultaneouly discover a comet. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 12 | The space shuttle Atlantis blasts off on a mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir. (XDG, p 4A, 11/12/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Nov 16 | The space shuttle Atlantis docks with the orbiting Russian space station Mir. (XDG, p 4A, 11/15/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 02 | NASA launches a US-European observatory on a $1 billion mission to study the sun. (XDG, p. 4A, 12/2/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 06 | The U.S. spacecraft Galileo arrived at Jupiter, and fired its main engine for 49 minutes to attain a successful orbit around Jupiter. The same day, Galileo's atmospheric probe plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and relayed information on the structure and composition of the solar system’s largest planet. | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 07 | The U.S. spacecraft Galileo arrived at Jupiter, and fired its main engine for 49 minutes to attain a successful orbit around Jupiter. The same day, Galileo's atmospheric probe plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and relayed information on the structure and composition of the solar system’s largest planet. | Ref: 4 |
- 1996
| Jan 11 | Space Shuttle STS 72 (Endeavour 10), launches into space. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | Soyuz TM-23, launched into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 22 | STS 75 (Columbia 19), launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
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| Mar 07 | First surface photos of Pluto (photographed by Hubble Space Telescope). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 09 | STS 75 (Columbia 19), lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 22 | The shuttle "Atlantis," carrying astronaut Shannon Lucid to a rendezvous with the Russian space station "Mir," blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 24 | NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid transferred from the space shuttle "Atlantis" to the Russian space station "Mir," beginning a five-month stay. | Ref: 6 |
| Mar 28 | The space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts said goodbye to the crew of Russia's space station Mir and then flew away, leaving Shannon Lucid behind for a five-month stay in orbit. | Ref: 64 |
| Mar 30 | The space shuttle "Atlantis" narrowly avoided having to make an emergency landing when its cargo-bay doors wouldn't open at first to release built-up heat. | Ref: 64 |
| Mar 31 | Space Shuttle STS 76 (Atlantis 16), lands | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 30 | Dutch/Italian Beppo-SAX launches from Cape Canaveral. | Ref: 5 |
| May 19 | STS 77 (Endeavour 11), launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| May 29 | Space Shuttle STS 77 (Endeavour 11), lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 06 | NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin announced the possibility that a primitive form of microscopic life may have existed on Mars more than three billion years ago. The evidence came from a fossil found on a meteorite in Antarctica believed to have come from Mars billions of years ago. | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 07 | The space shuttle "Endeavour" thundered into orbit with five astronauts on a mission to release and recapture a pair of science satellites. | Ref: 6 |
| Nov 28 | The U.S. space shuttle Columbia had a screw loose. A stuck hatch (later blamed on that loose screw) prevented astronauts Tammy Jernigan and Tom Jones from taking a spacewalk. “I'm pushing as hard as I can,” Jones said. “It just doesn't seem to want to move,” Jernigan agreed. | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 04 | The Mars Pathfinder lifted off from Cape Canaveral and began speeding toward Mars on a successful 310 million-mile odyssey to explore the Red Planet's surface. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 07 | Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), lands. | Ref: 5 |
- 1997
| Jan 10 | First Comet of 1997 Discovered Comet 1997 A1. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 11 | Telstar 401 Satellite fails. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 12 | Space Shuttle STS 81 (Atlantis 18), launches into space. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 15 | Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with Mir Space Station. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 20 | Comet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 22 | Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns to Earth, Successful. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 30 | Minuteman III launches. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 03 | Carl Sagan Public Memorial at Ithaca NY. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 10 | Soyuz TM-25 launches to the MIR. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 11 | STS 82 (Discovery 22) launches. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 13 | After a two-day chase, space shuttle Discovery’s astronauts hauled the Hubble Space Telescope aboard to begin a $350 million refurbishment. The mission’s objective was to replace worn-out components and install new ones to inctrease the performance of the telescope. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 17 | Carl Sagan Public Memorial at Pasadena CA. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 21 | The space shuttle Discovery (STS 82) returns to earth after a mission to upgrade the Hubble telescope. (XDG, p 4A, 2/21/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Mar 02 | Soyuz TM-24 returns to Earth (Russia) | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 04 | Zeya Start-1 launched (Russia) | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 31 | Pioneer 10's mission officially ends (it started on March 30th, 1972) but occassional data is still received by NASA. | Ref: 3 |
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| Apr 04 | STS 83 (Columbia 22), launches. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 05 | Galileo, 3rd Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 7). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 06 | Progress M-34 Launch (Russia). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 08 | STS 83 (Columbia 22), lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 21 | Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry launched into orbit | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 29 | Astronaut Jerry Linenger and cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev went on the first U.S.-Russian space walk. | Ref: 70 |
| May 05 | Iridium-1 Delta 2 Launch, Successful. | Ref: 5 |
| May 07 | Galileo, 4th Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 8) | Ref: 5 |
| May 15 | STS 84 (Atlantis 19), launches, 6th Shuttle-Mir Mission | Ref: 5 |
| May 20 | Cosmos Zenit-2 Launch (Russia), Failed. | Ref: 5 |
| May 20 | Thor-2A Delta 2 Launch (Norway/USA), Successful. | Ref: 5 |
| May 21 | The space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the Russian Mir space station. (XDG, p 4A, 5/21/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| May 24 | Telstar-5 Proton launch is successful. | Ref: 5 |
| May 24 | STS 84 (Atlantis 19), lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | The Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident," suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies. (Go to article.) | Ref: 70 |
| Jun 25 | An unmanned cargo ship crashed into Russia's Mir space station, knocking out half of the station's power and rupturing a pressurized laboratory. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 04 | The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, launched by NASA from the Earth in December 1996, entered the atmosphere of Mars. A heat shield, parachutes, and airbags helped it land safely. The Sojourner rover searched the surface of Mars for rocks while millions of earthlings watch it on TV and the Internet. | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 06 | The rover Sojourner rolled down a ramp from the Mars Pathfinder lander onto the Martian landscape to begin inspecting soil and rocks. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 17 | The space shuttle Columbia and its crew return to Earth after a near-flawless 16-day mission. (XDG, p 4A, 7/17/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Jul 18 | All key systems on the Russian space station MIR returned to near normal, about 24 hours after the already disabled spacecraft lost power. (XDG, p 4A, 7/18/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 05 | The space shuttle Columbia returned from a 16-day mission marred by a bungled release of a satellite. (XDG, p 4A, 12/5/2002) | Ref: 83 |
- 1998
| Jan 09 | Anatoly Solovyov & Pavel Vinogradov spacewalk record 3 hours 8 minutes. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 15 | NASA announces John Glenn, 76, may fly in space again | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 16 | NASA officially announces that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, would fly aboard the space shuttle later in the year. (XDG, p 4A, 1/16/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Jan 22 | STS 89 (Endeavour 12) launches into orbit. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 29 | Soyuz TM-27 launches to MIR. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 31 | STS 89 (Endeavour 12) lands. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 09 | Anatoly Solovyov & Pavel Vinogradov spacewalk record 3 hours 8 minutes. | Ref: 5 |
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| Mar 05 | NASA scientists said that enough water was frozen in the loose soil of the moon to support a lunar base and perhaps, one day, a human colony. (XDG, p 4A, 3/05/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Mar 12 | Astronomers debunked a warning that a mile-wide asteroid might collide with Earth on Oct. 26, 2028, saying the calculations were off by 600,000 miles. | Ref: 70 |
| May 28 | California astronomer Susan Terebey announces she photographed what may be a planet some 450 light-years from earth. (XDG, p 4A, 5/28/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Jun 12 | Space shuttle "Discovery" returns to Earth, bringing home the last American to live aboard "Mir" and closing out 3 years of US-Russian cooperation aboard the aging space station. (XDG, p 4A, 6/12/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Oct 29 | The space shuttle Discovery blasted off, returning 77-year-old U.S. Senator John Glenn to space some 36 years after he became the first American in orbit. Glenn was part of a crew of seven astronauts shepherding scientific payloads on the shuttle mission. | Ref: 4 |
| Nov 07 | John Glenn, 77, returns to earth aboard the space shuttle Discovery, visibly weak, but elated after a nine-day mission. (XDG, p 4A, 11/07/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 06 | Astronauts on the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour completed the most difficult task of their 12-day mission, mating modules from Russia and the United States to create the first two building blocks of International Space Station. “We have capture of Zarya,” Commander Robert Cabana announced when the two pieces came together at approximately 9:07 p.m. EST. “Congratulations to the crew of the good ship Endeavour,” replied Mission Control. “That's terrific.” | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 10 | Six astronauts swung open the doors to the new international space station, becoming the first guests aboard the 250-mile-high outpost. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 11 | The Mars Climate Orbiter blasts off on a nine-month journey to Mars. The probe will disappear in September 1999 because scientists failed to convert English measures to metric values. (XDG, p 4A, 12/11/2003) | Ref: 83 |
- 1999
| May 01 | The Mercury space capsule Liberty Bell 7 that was flown by Gus Grissom was found in the Atlantic 300 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, 38 years after it sank. | Ref: 70 |
| May 29 | Space shuttle Discovery completed the first docking with the International Space Station. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 20 | After 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule was lifted to the surface. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 23 | The space shuttle Columbia deploys Chandra, an orbital x-ray telescope. | |
| Jul 23 | AF Col Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to command a space shuttle (the Columbia). | |
| Sep 23 | NASA's $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter is lost. Subsequent investigations indicate one engineering team used metric units while another used English units for a key spacecraft operation as the cause for the loss. (XDG, p 4A, 9/23/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 03 | Scientists fail to make contact with the Mars Polar Lander after it began its fiery descent toward the red planet; the spacecraft was presumed destroyed. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 22 | Two astronauts from the U.S. space shuttle "Discovery" started three days of spacewalks to repair the crippled Hubble Space Telescope so it could focus correctly on stars, galaxies and other celestial objects. | Ref: 4 |
- 2000
| Mar 28 | Astronomers announce the discovery of two Saturn-sized planets outside the solar system. The previous 30 planets discovered outside the solar system were at least as large as Jupiter. This lends credence to the theory that small planets outnumber larger planets. Ref | |
| May 29 | The space shuttle "Atlantis" returns from a repair mission to the international space station. | Ref: 6 |
| Aug 28 | Three crewmen aboard the "Mir" space station returned safely to Earth after bidding farewell to the 13-year-old Russian orbiter. (The Russian government had planned to abandon Mir this year because of a shortage of funds, but has since extended its mission.) | Ref: 6 |
| Sep 03 | NASA temporarily grounded its space shuttle fleet after inspections had uncovered damaged wires that could endanger a mission. | Ref: 6 |
| Sep 23 | The Mars Climate Orbiter apparently burned up as it was about to go into orbit around the Red Planet. | Ref: 6 |
| Dec 03 | Space shuttle Endeavour's astronauts attached the world's largest, most powerful set of solar panels to the international space station. Sandra Baldwin was elected the first female president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize, died in Chicago at age 83. | Ref: 64 |
- 2001
| Feb 11 | Two space commanders open the door to Destiny, the American-made science laboratory attached the day before to the international space station. (XDG, p 4A, 2/11/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Feb 12 | The NEAR spacecraft touched down on Eros, completing the first landing on an asteroid. | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 23 | Russia's orbiting Mir space station ended its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 07 | NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft took off on a six-month, 286-million-mile journey to the red planet. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 28 | A Russian rocket lifted off from Central Asia bearing the first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, and two cosmonauts on a journey to the international space station. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 30 | California businessman Dennis Tito arrived at the international space station aboard a Russian spacecraft. | Ref: 70 |
| Aug 10 | The space shuttle Discovery delivers a new crew to the International Space station. (XDG, p 4A, 8/10/2002) | Ref: 83 |
| Aug 15 | Astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own two planets orbiting a star in the Big Dipper. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 05 | The space shuttle Endeavor blasted off under heavy protection on a flight to deliver a new crew to the international space station. (XDG, p 4A, 12/5/2002) | Ref: 83 |
- 2002
| Mar 01 | NASA said its Mars Odyssey spacecraft had found evidence that vast regions of Mars may abound in water. | Ref: 70 |
| Nov 25 | The Space Shuttle Endeavour arrives at the international space station, delivering one American and two Russians and another girder for the orbiting outpost. (XDG, p 4A, 11/25/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Dec 30 | China catapulted a fourth unmanned spacecraft into orbit. (XDG, p 4A, 12/30/2003) | Ref: 83 |
- 2003
| Jan 05 | Chinese media report that an unmanned Chinese space capsule had returned to earth. (XDG, p 4A, 1/05/2004) | Ref: 83 |
| Jan 16 | (Columbia Shuttle) The space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven blasted off from Cape Canaveral. (The shuttle broke up during its return descent on Feb. 1, killing everyone on board.) | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 01 | (Columbia Shuttle) The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates above Texas on landing; seven astronauts are killed. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Feb 01 | (Columbia Shuttle) Retired Navy admiral Harold Gehman is asked to lead a panel to investigate the cause of the shuttle accident. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Feb 01 | (Columbia Shuttle) Within hours of the Columbia accident, a shuttle official says NASA will study whether a piece of foam insulation that broke off the shuttle's external fuel tank and hit the left wing during liftoff might be the cause. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Feb 04 | (Columbia Shuttle) President Bush visits the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he led a tribute to the lost crew of the shuttle Columbia and rededicated the nation to space travel. (XDG, p 4A, 2/04/2004) | Ref: 83 |
| Feb 13 | (Columbia Shuttle) The Columbia Accident Investigation Board says evidence shows something caused a hole that let superheated gases inot the shuttle's left wing. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Feb 26 | (Columbia Shuttle) Emails released by NASA reveal that one day before the disaster, engineers worried the shuttle's left wing might be so damaged it could burn off. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Feb 26 | After 31 yrs, Pioneer 10 loses contact with earth from 7.6 billion miles away. Next stop Aldabaran. | Ref: 10 |
| Mar 21 | (Columbia Shuttle) Documents show that NASA had flagged as a major concern the recurring shredding of insulation from the tank, but no action had been taken to prevent it. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Apr 28 | The Soyez space capsule carrying a US-Russian space crew docks with the international space station. (XDG, p 4A, 4/28/2004) | Ref: 83 |
| May 23 | (Columbia Shuttle) Retired Navy admiral Harold Gehman, says NASA could have launched another shuttle to rescue the Columbia astronauts if it had realized the severity of the wing damage. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Jul 02 | (Columbia Shuttle) NASA announces the reassignment of many managers who oversaw the Columbia flight. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Jul 07 | (Columbia Shuttle) A chunk of foam fired at a mockup of a shuttle wing blows open a 16-inch hole. An investigator calls it "the smoking gun". (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Aug 26 | (Columbia Shuttle) The Columbia Accident Investigation Board releases a 248-page report on the accident. It says NASA's "management practices" are as much to blame for the accident as the foam". (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Aug 27 | (Columbia Shuttle) "We get it" NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe says in response to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's report released yesterday.(USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Sep 21 | The Galileo spacecraft, wraps up its 14-year mission as it plunges into Jupiter at 108,000 MPH. (USA Today, p 3A, 9/19/2003) | Ref: 13 |
| Oct 03 | (Columbia Shuttle) NASA delays the first shuttle flight after the Columbia accident from spring 2004 to fall 2004. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Oct 15 | China launches its first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou IV (Divine Vessel) with taikonaut Yang Liwei. Shenzhou IV completed 14 orbits and lands safely in Mongolia, as planned. China is the third nation to put a man in space. (USA Today, p 13A, 10/16/2003) | Ref: 13 |
| Oct 23 | According to an article in USA Today, NASA's decision to launch a fresh two-man crew to the International Space Station came over the objections of mid-level scientists and physicians who warned that deteriorating medical, air-monitoring and water-monitoring systems posed increasing safety risks for the crew. (USA Today, p 3A, 10/23/2003) | Ref: 13 |
| Nov 06 | Voyager 1, launched August 20, 1977, is on the verge of interstellar space, 8.32B miles from Earth, more than 3 times farther from the Sun than Pluto. Radioactive batteries are expected to power the vessel until the year 2020. (USA Today, p 11D) | Ref: 13 |
| Dec 24 | British scientists lose contact with the European Space Agency's "Beagle 2" (named after the ship Charles Darwin sailed on) Mars Lander as it attempts to land. Additional attempts to locate the lander will be made via the Mars Express (the mother ship) and the Mars Odessey, a US craft orbiting Mars. (USA Today, p 1A, 12/26/2003) | Ref: 13 |
| Dec 24 | USA Today reports that two-thirds of the 34 spacecraft sent to Mars since 1960 have ended in failure. (USA Today, p 1A, 12/26/2003) | Ref: 13 |
- 2004
| Jan 03 | NASA's "Spirit" rover lands on Mars. (USA Today, p 1A, 1/09/2004) | Ref: 33 |
| Jan 06 | The Mars rover "Spirit" rolls over on landing and mashes the soil revealing a mess that has heretofore not been seen. (USA Today, p 1A, 1/07/2004) | Ref: 33 |
| Jan 14 | (Columbia Shuttle) President Bush calls for a return to the moom by 2020 and the retirement of the shuttle fleet by 2010. (USA Today, p 3A, 2/02/2004) | Ref: 13 |
| Mar 09 | Hubble Space Telescope astronomers unveiled the deepest-ever snapshot of the univers, a view of stars and galaxies active about 700 million years after the Big Bang. (USA Today, p 9D, 3/10/2004) | Ref: 13 |
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Space Chronology