1951
- June 1
- S Arend discovers asteroids #1592 Mathieu and #1593 Fagnes. [1]
- June 27
- M Itzigsohn discovers asteroid #1588 Descamisada. [1]
- July 10
- E L Johnson discovers asteroid #1609 Brenda. [1]
- July 30
- E L Johnson discovers asteroid #2718. [1]
- September 29
- S B Nicholson discovers 12th satellite of Jupiter. [1]
1952
- July 25
- Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #1788 Kiess. [1]
1953
- June 6
- J Churms discovers asteroid #2025. [1]
- July 6
- J Churms discovers asteroid #1701 Okavango. [1]
- July 13
- J A Bruwer discovers asteroids #1658 Innes and #3284. [1]
- August 21
- Marion Carl in Douglas Skyrocket reaches record altitude 25,370m. [1]
1954
- March 19
- First rocket-driven sled on rails is tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. [1]
- May 24
- First rocket attains 150 mile (241 km) altitude, White Sands, New Mexico, USA. [1]
- November 10
- Lieutenant Colonel John Strapp travels 632mph in a rocket sled. [1]
- November 30
- First meteorite (8 pounds) known to strike a woman (Liz Hodges in Sylacauga, Alabama, USA). [1]
1955
- February 12
- Soviets dedicate space center built in Baikonur, Kazachstan. [1]
- May 15
- Building of space travel center at Baikonur, Kazachstan begins. [1]
- May 31
- Construction begins on Soviet cosmodrome launch facilities. [1]
- July 27
- Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #1751 Herget. [1]
1956
- May 2
- US Lab detects high-temperature microwave radiation from Venus. [1]
- December 8
- First test firing of the Vanguard satellite program, TV-0. [1]
1957
- May 1
- Vanguard TV-1 booster test reaches 195 km. [1]
- June 23
- S B Nicholson discovers asteroid #1647 Menelaus. [1]
- August 20
- US Air Force balloon breaks an altitude record at 102,000 feet (310,896 metres). [1]
- October 4
- USSR launches Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth satellite. [1] [249.41] [375.16]
- October 23
- First test firing of Vanguard satellite launch vehicle, TV-3. [1]
- November 3
- USSR launches Sputnik 2 with a dog (Laika), first animal in orbit. [1]
- December 6
- First US attempt to launch a satellite fails - Vanguard rocket blows up. [1]
1958
- January 4
- Sputnik 1 re-enters Earth's atmosphere from its orbit and burns up. [1] [5]
- January 31
- James van Allen discovers radiation belt. [1]
- US launches their first artificial satellite, Explorer 1. [1]
- February 5
- Vanguard TV-3 back-up launches into Earth orbit; reaches 6 km. [1]
- March 5
- Explorer 2 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- March 17
- Navy launches Vanguard 1 into orbit (second US satellite), measures Earth shape. [1]
- March 19
- Britain's first planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London. [1]
- March 26
- US Army launches America's third successful satellite, Explorer III. [1]
- April 2
- American National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA. [1]
- April 14
- Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere. [1]
- April 28
- Vanguard TV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- May 15
- USSR launches Sputnik III. [1]
- May 23
- Explorer 1 ceases transmission. [5]
- May 27
- Vanguard SLV-1 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- June 26
- Vanguard SLV-2 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- July 26
- Army launches fourth US successful satellite, Explorer IV. [1]
- July 29
- President Dwight Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [1] [229.91] [452.94] [861.174]
- August 17
- World's first Moon probe, USA's Thor-Able, explodes 77 seconds after launch. [1] [245.4]
- September 14
- German engineer Ernst Mohr's two rockets - the first German post-war rockets - reach the upper atmosphere. [5]
- October 1
- US National Aeronautics and Space Administration begins operations, taking over duties of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. [1] [249.41] [452.94]
- Vanguard Project transferred from military to NASA. [1]
- October 7
- US manned space-flight project renamed Project Mercury. [1]
- October 11
- Second US Moon probe, Pioneer 1, reaches 113,810 km, falls back. [1]
- December 6
- US lunar probe Pioneer 3 reaches 107,269 km, falls back. [1]
- December 18
- First test project of Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment. [1]
- December 19
- First radio broadcast from space (recorded Christmas message by President Eisenhower: "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men Everywhere"). [1]
1959
- January 4
- Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes first spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity and reach the vicinity of the Moon. [1] [5]
- February 17
- First weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2, 9.8kg. [1]
- February 28
- Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-first polar orbit. [1]
- March 3
- Pioneer 4 is launched; becomes first US probe to enter solar orbit. [1]
- March 4
- US Pioneer IV misses Moon and becomes second (US first) artificial planet. [1]
- March 6
- Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles away). [1]
- March 9
- First known radar contact is made with Venus. [1]
- April 7
- Radar first bounced off sun, from Stanford, California. [1]
- April 9
- NASA names first seven astronauts for Project Mercury. [1]
- April 13
- US Air Force launches Discoverer II into polar orbit. [1]
- Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- April 17
- A bright fireball is photographed by a synchronized network of cameras over Czechoslovakia, breaking up into about 19 pieces, with four recovered near Pribram. The photos allow determination of the asteroid belt as place of origin. [523]
- May 28
- US Congressional Committee of Astronautics meets Project 7 astronauts. [1]
- Monkeys Able and Baker zoom 300 miles (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, became first animals retrieved from a space mission. [1]
- June 22
- Vanguard SLV-6 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- July 26
- C Hoffmeister discovers asteroid #2183. [1]
- August 7
- Explorer 6 transmits first TV photo of Earth from space. [1]
- September 12
- Luna 2 launched by USSR; first spacecraft to impact on the Moon. [1] [5]
- September 14
- The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach the Moon. [5]
- September 17
- Transit 1A, first navigational satellite launched; failed to orbit. [1]
- September 18
- Vanguard 3 is launched into orbit to measure local phenomena related to Earth's atmosphere. [1] [5]
- September 28
- Explorer VI reveals an intense radiation belt around the Earth. [1]
- October 7
- U.S.S.R. probe Luna 3 transmits the first ever photographs of the far side of the Moon. [1] [5]
- December 1
- The first color photograph of Earth is received from outer space. [1]
- December 4
- A monkey returns to Earth safely, after being launched 55 miles high into outer space by the United States space program. [5]
- December 12
- United Nations Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space is established. [1]
1960
- January 2
- John Reynolds sets age of solar system at 4,950,000,000 years. [1]
- January 21
- Little Joe 4 suborbital Mercury test reaches 16 km. [1]
- January 28
- First photograph bounced off Moon, from Washington DC. [1]
- March 11
- Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth and Venus. [1]
- March 15
- National Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona dedicated. [1]
- March 23
- Explorer 8 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- April 1
- RCA TIROS (TV and Infra-Red Observation 'weather' Satellite) I launched. [1]
- April 4
- Project Ozma begins at Green Bank radio astronomy center. [1]
- April 11
- First weather satellite launched (Tiros 1). [1]
- April 13
- Transit 1B, first navigational satellite, placed in Earth orbit. [1]
- May 13
- First launch of Delta satellite launching vehicle; it fails. [1]
- May 15
- Sputnik 4 launched into Earth orbit; later recovery failed. [1]
- July 29
- J Schubart discovers asteroid #2000 Herschel. [1]
- August 10
- Discoverer 13 launched into orbit; returned first object from space. [1]
- August 12
- Echo I, first communications satellite, is launched. [1] [5]
- August 18
- First photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. [1]
- August 19
- The Soviet Union launches the Sputnik 5 satellite with dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. [1] [5]
- October 4
- Courier 1B launched; first active repeater satellite in orbit. [1]
- October 24
- Disaster on USSR launch pad, kills missile expert Nedelin and team (unconfirmed); USSR claims he was killed in plane crash. [1]
- November 12
- Mercury-Redstone 1 test launch fails at 10 cm altitude. [1]
- November 23
- Tiros 2, a weather satellite is launched. [1]
- December 19
- Mercury-Redstone 1A reaches 210 km in test flight. [1]
1961
- January 31
- "Ham" is first primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2. [1]
- US Air Force launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights. [1]
- February 4
- Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure. [1]
- February 12
- USSR launches Venera 1 toward Venus. [1] [5]
- February 16
- First all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, Virginia, USA. [1]
- US satellite Explorer 9 is launched. [1]
- February 21
- Mercury-Atlas 2 reentry test reaches 172 km. [1]
- February 24
- Explorer 10 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- March 9
- Sputnik 9 carries Chernushka (dog) into orbit. [1]
- March 25
- Explorer 10 is launched into elongated Earth orbit (177/181,000 km). [1]
- Sputnik 10 carries a dog into Earth orbit; later recovered. [1]
- April 12
- Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin becomes first person to orbit Earth (Vostok 1). [1] [452.94] [627.60]
- April 20
- American Harold Graham makes first rocket belt flight. [1]
- April 25
- Mercury/Atlas rocket lifts off with an electronic mannequin. [1]
- April 27
- NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays. [1]
- May 5
- Alan Shepard becomes first American in space (aboard Freedom 7). [1] [627.60]
- May 24
- Explorer 12 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- May 25
- US President John Kennedy appeals to Congress that the nation should commit to "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth" by the end of the decade. [1] [5] [129] [452.94]
- June 29
- Launch of Transit 4a, with first nuclear power supply (SNAP-3). [1]
- June 30
- Explorer 12 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- July 21
- Launch of Mercury 4 (Liberty Bell) with Grissom. [1]
- August 6
- Gherman S Titov, second Russian in space aboard Vostok 2 (17 orbits), first case of motion sickness in space reported. [1]
- August 7
- Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2. [1]
- August 23
- US lunar probe Ranger 1 reaches 190 km from Earth, falls back. [1]
- September 13
- Unmanned Mercury-Atlas 4 launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- October 27
- First Saturn launch vehicle makes an unmanned flight test. [1]
- November 18
- US Ranger 2 launched to Moon; failed. [1]
- November 29
- Mercury-Atlas 5 carries a chimp (Enos) to orbit. [1]
- December 12
- Ham radio satellite Oscar 1 launched with military Discoverer 36. [1]
1962
- January 26
- US launches Ranger 3; misses Moon by 22,000 miles (37,000km). [1]
- February 2
- Eight of nine planets align for first time in 400 years. [1]
- February 5
- Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn within 16 degrees. [1]
- February 20
- NASA's Friendship 7 space craft is launched, with Colonel John Glenn as first American to orbit Earth. The craft makes three orbits in five hours. [1] [129] [452.94]
- March 7
- Launch of OSO 1, first astronomy satellite (solar flare data). [1]
- March 16
- First launching of Titan 2 rocket. [1]
- April 23
- Ranger 4, first US satellite to reach Moon, launched from Cape Canaveral. [1]
- April 24
- MIT sends TV signal by satellite for first time: California to Massachusetts. [1]
- April 25
- US Ranger 4 spacecraft crash lands on the Moon. [1]
- April 26
- US/United Kingdom launch Ariel; first international payload, first United Kingdom satellite. [1]
- May 8
- First Atlas Centaur Launch. [1]
- May 9
- Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for first time. [1]
- May 24
- M Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7 launched into earth orbit. [1]
- June 1
- Oscar 2 (ham radio satellite) launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- July 9
- The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the USA. [5]
- July 11
- Cosmonaut Micolaev sets record longest space flight - four days. [1]
- July 12
- First time two manned crafts in space (USSR). [1]
- July 22
- First US Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off, falls into Atlantic Ocean. [1]
- August 11
- Andrian G Nikolayev becomes third Russian in space aboard Vostok 3. [1]
- August 12
- Russia launches Vostok 4 with Pavel Popovich, who lands safely August 15. [1]
- August 27
- Mariner 2 launched; first probe to fly by Venus. [1]
- September 17
- US space officials announce selection of nine new astronauts. [1]
- September 29
- Launch of Alouette 1, first Canadian satellite (on US Delta rocket). [1]
- October 1
- US National Radio Astronomy Observatory gets a 300-foot (91-metre) radio telescope. [1]
- October 3
- Wally Schirra in Sigma 7 launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- October 12
- US/USSR sign joint space effort in telecommunications and meteorology. [1]
- October 18
- US launches Ranger 5 for lunar impact; misses Moon. [1]
- November 1
- USSR launches Mars 1; radio contact lost before arrival at Mars. [1]
- December 13
- Relay 1 communication satellite launched. [1]
- December 14
- Mariner 2 launched; makes first US visit to another planet (Venus). [1]
- December 19
- Transit 5A1, first operational navigational satellite, launched. [1]
1963
- January 4
- Soviet Luna (4) reaches Earth orbit but fails to reach Moon. [1]
- February 5
- Maarten Schmidt discovers enormous red shifts in quasars. [1]
- February 14
- US launches communications satellite Syncom 1. [1]
- April 2
- Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km). [1]
- USSR launches Luna 4; misses Moon by 8,500 km. [1]
- May 7
- SETC Telstar 2 launched (apogee 6,700 miles (10,800 km)). [1]
- May 15
- The final Mercury mission is launched, with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper - who becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space. [1] [5]
- May 16
- Gordon Cooper completes 22 orbits in Faith 7, ends US Project Mercury. [1]
- June 14
- Valery Bykovsky in Vostok 5 orbits Earth 81 times in five days. [1]
- July 26
- US Syncom 2, first geosynchronous communications satellite, is launched. [1]
- November 12
- US President John Kennedy instructs NASA administrator James Webb to develop a program of "joint space and lunar exploration" with the Soviet Union. [861.176]
1964
- January 25
- Echo 2 US communications satellite launched. [1]
- January 29
- Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit. [1]
- January 30
- Ranger 6 launched; makes perfect flight to Moon, but cameras fail. [1]
- March 20
- European Space Research Organization established. [1]
- April 2
- USSR launches Zond 1 to Venus; no data returned. [1]
- April 8
- Unmanned Gemini 1 launched. [1]
- May 28
- Unmanned Apollo 2 Saturn rocket test launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- June 30
- Centaur 3 launch vehicle fails to make Earth orbit. [1]
- July 28
- Ranger 7 launched toward the Moon. [1]
- July 31
- US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on the Moon. These are the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. [1] [5]
- September 4
- NASA launches its first Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1). [1]
- October 12
- Launch of Voskhod 1, first three man crew (Komarov, Feokistov, Yegorov). [1]
- October 13
- Voskhod 1 crew returns. [1]
- November 5
- US launches Mariner 3 toward Mars; no data returned. [1]
- November 28
- Mariner 4 launched; first probe to fly by Mars. [1]
- November 30
- USSR launches Zond 2 towards Mars; no data returned. [1]
- December 15
- First time four people in space. [1]
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