Timeline of space exploration
{{Short description|none}}
{{About|highlighting milestones in space exploration|a comprehensive list of all events|Timeline of Solar System exploration||}}
{{Cleanup list|date=February 2023}}
This is a timeline of space exploration which includes notable achievements, first accomplishments and milestones in humanity's exploration of outer space.
This timeline generally does not distinguish achievements by a specific country or private company, as it considers humanity as a whole. See otherwise the timeline of private spaceflight or look for achievements by each space agency.
Pre-20th century
| class="wikitable" |
| Date
! Event leading to space exploration ! Country ! Researcher(s) !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| 1610
|First telescopic observation of the night sky: discovery of the Galilean moons, lunar craters and the phases of Venus. | |
| 1668
| First reflecting telescope. | |
| 1781
| First telescopic discovery of planet (Uranus). | |
| 1801
| First discovery of asteroid (Ceres). | |
| 1813
| First exposition of the rocket equation based on Newton's third law of motion: Treatise on the Motion of Rockets. | |
| 1840
| First clear telescopic photograph of another world: the Moon. | |
| 1845
| First proper observation of other galaxies which are termed "whirlpool nebulae". | |
| 1861
| A Journey Through Space makes first proposal of using rockets for space flight. | 20px UK | |
| 1895
| First proposal of space elevator. | |
1900–1956
{{sticky header}}
| class="wikitable sticky-header" | |||
| Date
! Mission success ! width=130em|Country ! Mission name !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| | 1903 | Publication of Exploration of the Universe with Rocket-Propelled VehiclesRussian title Issledovaniye mirovykh prostranstv reaktivnymi priborami (Исследование мировых пространств реактивными приборами) that showed physical space exploration was theoretically possible, including the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, multi staged rockets and using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in liquid propellant | 20px Russia | Konstantin Tsiolkovsky |
| | 1914 | Goddard files for and is subsequently awarded U.S. patents on multistage and liquid-fueled rockets. | 20px United States | Robert H. Goddard
| |
| | 1917 | First observation of an extrasolar planet (exoplanet) round Van Maanen 2 although it is not recognised as such at the time. | 20px Netherlands | Adriaan van Maanen
| |
| | 1919 | Goddard's widely influential paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes" discussed solid- and liquid-fueled rocketry. | 20px United States | Robert H. Goddard
| |
| | {{dts|15 December 1923}} | {{lang|de|Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen}} ("By Rocket into Planetary Space") self-published after its rejection as a doctoral thesis. | 20px Germany | Hermann Oberth
| |
| | 1924 | Society for Studies of Interplanetary Travel founded. | 20px USSR | Members include Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Friedrich Zander, Yuri Kondratyuk
| |
| | {{dts|16 March 1926}} | Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket. | 20px United States | Robert H. Goddard
| |
| | 1927 | Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) formed; it includes many top European rocket scientists. | 20px Germany |
| |
| | 1927 | Завоевание межпланетных пространств (The Conquest of Interplanetary Space) discusses rocket mechanics and orbital effects including the gravitational slingshot. | 20px USSR | Yuri Kondratyuk
| |
| | 1928 | {{lang|de|Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums – der Raketen-Motor}} (The Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor) discusses space travel and its potential uses for scientific experiments. | 20px Germany | Herman Potočnik
| |
| {{dts|January 1933}}
|British Interplanetary Society founded. |20px UK |Philip E. Cleator | | |||
| {{dts|April 1933}}
|First detection of radio waves from an astronomical object. |20px United States | | |||
| {{dts|September 1933}}
|Establishment of the Soviet rocket research lab Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII) by combining the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD) with the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL). |20px USSR |Key people Sergei Korolev & Valentin Glushko | |||
| | {{dts|20 June 1944}} | First spaceflight in history.
First human-made object in space (later defined as above the Kármán line). | 20px Germany (Wehrmacht) | V-2 rocket (MW 18014)
| |
| | {{dts|October 1945}} | Article in Wireless World, "Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?" makes first discussion of geostationary satellites as a means of communication. | 20px UK | Arthur C. Clarke
| |
| |{{dts|10 May 1946}} | First space research flight (cosmic radiation experiments). | 20px United States | captured and improved V-2 rocket
| |
| |{{dts|24 October 1946}} | First pictures of Earth from 105 km (65 mi). | 20px United States | V-2
|{{cite web|url=http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/WSHist/Pages/ChronologyCowboystoV2stotheSpaceShuttletolasers.aspx|title=Chronology: Cowboys to V-2s to the Space Shuttle to lasers|website=Wsmr.army.mil|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-date=13 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013081400/http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/WSHist/Pages/ChronologyCowboystoV2stotheSpaceShuttletolasers.aspx|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://media.airspacemag.com/images/1stPhotoFromSpace.jpg|title=First Photo from Space|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221145846/http://media.airspacemag.com/images/1stPhotoFromSpace.jpg|archive-date=2014-02-21|url-status=dead|access-date=2013-01-17}} |
| |20 February 1947 | First animals in space (fruit flies). | 20px United States | V-2
|{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afspbio/part1.htm|title=Part 1|website=History.nasa.gov|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-date=25 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125044753/https://history.nasa.gov/afspbio/part1.htm|url-status=dead}} |
| |{{dts|24 February 1949}} | First two-stage liquid-fueled rocket, that sets a record altitude of 244 miles (393 km) (WAC Corporal missile mounted onto a V-2 rocket). | 20px United States | Bumper-5
| |
| |{{dts|14 June 1949}} | First mammal in space (Albert II, a rhesus monkey).
First primate in space. | 20px United States | V-2
| |
| |{{dts|22 July 1951}} | First dogs in space (Dezik and Tsygan).
First living organisms to fly in space and safely return. | 20px USSR | Soviet space dogs |
| |{{dts|5 October 1954}} | The composite image taken from specially modified cameras on-board an Aerobee sounding rocket produces the first color picture of Earth and the first detailed view of a tropical cyclone.
| 20px United States | Dr. Otto Berg's films | https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/mwre/83/6/1520-0493_1955_083_0119_arpoat_2_0_co_2.pdf | ||
| |{{dts|20 September 1956}} | First rocket to pass the thermopause and enter the exosphere. At 682 miles (1,098 km) altitude and 3,335 miles range, the 3-stage Jupiter-C breaks both records and achieves MACH 18 velocity. | 20px United States | Jupiter-C
|{{Cite web |title=The Space Review: Old Reliable: The story of the Redstone |url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1836/1 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.thespacereview.com |archive-date=2023-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602011346/https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1836/1 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=The United States Army |url=https://history.redstone.army.mil/space-firsts.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=history.redstone.army.mil |archive-date=2023-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803211547/https://history.redstone.army.mil/space-firsts.html |url-status=live }} |
1957–1959
{{About|2=the milestones relevant to the Space Race only|3=Timeline of the Space Race}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Date ! Mission achievements ! Country/organization ! Mission name !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} | |||
| valign=top|{{dts|4 October 1957}} | First artificial satellite. First human-made signals from space. |valign=top|20px USSR |valign=top|Sputnik 1 | | ||
| |{{dts|3 November 1957}} | First mammal in orbit, the dog Laika. | 20px USSR | Sputnik 2
| |
| |{{dts|31 January 1958}} | Confirmed existence of the Van Allen radiation belt. | 20px USA (ABMA) | Explorer 1
| |
| |{{dts|17 March 1958}} | First use of solar power in space. The oldest artificial object still in space. | 20px USA (NRL) | Vanguard 1
| |
| valign=top|{{dts|4 January 1959}} | First rocket to reach Earth escape velocity.
First spacecraft to attempt to impact the Moon's surface. |valign=top|20px USSR |valign=top|Luna 1 | | ||
| |{{dts|17 February 1959}} | First weather satellite. | 20px USA (NRL) | Vanguard 2
| |
| |{{dts|7 August 1959}} | First photograph of Earth from Earth orbit. | 20px USA (NASA) | Explorer 6
| |
| |{{dts|13 September 1959}} | First spacecraft to impact another celestial body (the Moon). First delivery of national pennants to a celestial body. | 20px USSR | Luna 2
| |
| |{{dts|4 October 1959}} | First photos of another world from space: the far side of the Moon.
First gravity assist. | 20px USSR | Luna 3
| |
1960–1969
{{About|2=the milestones relevant to the Space Race only|3=Timeline of the Space Race}}
{{sticky header}}
| class="wikitable sticky-header" | |||
| Date
! Mission success ! Country/organization ! Mission name !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |{{dts|March 1960}} | First solar probe. | 20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer 5
| |
| attack
|valign=top|{{dts|19 August 1960}} |First plants and animals to return alive from Earth orbit. |valign=top|20px USSR |valign=top|Sputnik 5 | | |||
| 25 September 1960
|First rocket engine fired in space. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|31 January 1961}} | First hominidae in space (chimpanzee Ham).
First tasks performed in space. | 20px USA (NASA) | M-R 2
| |
| valign=top|{{dts|12 February 1961}} | First launch from Earth orbit of upper stage into a heliocentric orbit. First mid-course corrections. First spin-stabilisation. |valign=top|20px USSR |valign=top|Venera 1 | | ||
| valign=top|{{dts|12 April 1961}} | First human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin). First human-crewed orbital flight. |valign=top|20px USSR |valign=top|Vostok 1 |{{cite web |title=Yuri Gagarin and Vostok 1, the First Human Spaceflight |url=https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/vostok-1 |website=Planetary Society |access-date=10 July 2022 |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710014858/https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/vostok-1 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Yuri Gagarin: Who was the first person in space? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56718196 |website=BBC |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008083730/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56718196 |url-status=live }} | ||
| valign=top|{{dts|5 May 1961}} | First human-piloted space flight (Alan Shepard). First human-crewed suborbital flight. |valign=top|20px USA |valign=top|Freedom 7 | | ||
| |{{dts|19 May 1961}} | First planetary flyby (within 100,000 km of Venus – no data returned). | 20px USSR
|valign=top|Venera 1 | | |
| |{{dts|6 August 1961}} | First crewed space flight lasting over twenty four hours by Gherman Titov, who is also the first to suffer from space sickness. | 20px USSR
|valign=top|Vostok 2 | | |
| |{{dts|7 March 1962}} | First orbital solar observatory. | 20px USA (NASA) | OSO-1
| |
| |{{dts|26 April 1962}} | First spacecraft to impact the far side of the Moon. | 20px USA (NASA)
|valign=top|Ranger 4 | |
| |{{dts|11 August 1962}} | First dual crewed spaceflight. First communication between two crewed space vehicles in orbit. First person to float freely in microgravity. | 20px USSR | Vostok 3 and Vostok 4
| |
| 18 August 1962
|First auroral research rocket launched into the ionosphere. | Ferdinand 1
| | ||
| |{{dts|November 1962}} | First Mars flyby (11,000 km) but contact was lost. | 20px USSR | Mars 1
| |
| |{{dts|14 December 1962}} | First planetary flyby with data returned (Venus).
First successful planetary science mission. | 20px USA (NASA) | Mariner 2 |
| |{{dts|16 June 1963}} | First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova). | 20px USSR | Vostok 6
| |
| |{{dts|19 July 1963}} | First reusable crewed spacecraft (suborbital). | 20px USA (NASA) | X-15 Flight 90
| |
| 25 April 1964
|First launch of a lithergol rocket, burning solid fuel and a liquid oxidizer, LEX, from the Levant Island. | | | |||
| |{{dts|12 October 1964}} | First multi-person crew (3) in orbit. | 20px USSR | Voskhod 1
| |
| |{{dts|18 March 1965}} | First space walk/extra-vehicular activity (Alexei Leonov). | 20px USSR | Voskhod 2
| |
| |{{dts|March 1965}} | First crewed spacecraft to change orbit. | 20px USA (NASA) | Gemini 3
| |
| |{{dts|14 July 1965}} | First flyby of Mars (returned pictures). | 20px USA (NASA) | Mariner 4 |
| |{{dts|14 July 1965}} | First photographs of another planet from deep space (Mars). | 20px USA (NASA) | Mariner 4 |
| 26 November 1965
|France launches its first satellite, Asterix, from a rocket Diamant, becoming the world's third space power. |20px France | | |||
| |{{dts|15 December 1965}} | First orbital rendezvous (parallel flight, no docking). | 20px USA (NASA) | Gemini 6A/Gemini 7
| |
| valign="top" |{{dts|3 February 1966}} | First soft landing on another world (the Moon). First photos from another world. | valign="top" |20px USSR | valign="top" |Luna 9 | ||
| |{{dts|1 March 1966}} | First impact into another planet (Venus). | 20px USSR | Venera 3
| |
| |{{dts|16 March 1966}} | First orbital docking between two spacecraft. | 20px USA (NASA) | Gemini 8/Agena target vehicle
| |
| |{{dts|3 April 1966}} | First artificial satellite around another world (the Moon). | 20px USSR | Luna 10
| |
| |23 {{dts|August 1966}} | First picture of Earth from another astronomical object (the Moon).
First probe to map the Moon. | 20px USA | Lunar Orbiter 1 |
| 26 January 1967
|First sounding rocket launch from Antarctica, a Dragon rocket from the Dumont-d'Urville Antarctic Base. |20px France | |||
| 8 May 1967
|First polar orbit around the Moon. |20px USA | |||
| July 1967
|First photos of the Lunar south pole. |20px USA | |||
| |{{dts|30 October 1967}} | First automated (crewless) docking. | 20px USSR | Cosmos 186/Cosmos 188
| |
| 17 November 1967
|First liftoff from another celestial body (the Moon). |20px USA | |||
| |{{dts|September 1968}} | First animals and plants to leave Earth orbit and travel to and around the Moon.
First lunar spacecraft to be recovered successfully. | 20px USSR
| valign="top" |Zond 5 | |
| |{{dts|7 December 1968}} | First orbital ultraviolet observatory. | 20px USA (NASA) | OAO-2
| |
| |{{dts|21 December 1968}} | First human excursion beyond low Earth orbit.
First in-person observations of Earth from a distance. | 20px USA (NASA) | Apollo 8 |
| 24 December 1968
|First human flight to another celestial body (the Moon) and to enter its gravitational influence. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|January 1969}} | First docking between two crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit.
First crew exchange in space. | 20px USSR | Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5
| |
| |{{dts|January 1969}} | First spacecraft to parachute in Venus's atmosphere, lost contact before landing. | 20px USSR | Venera 5
| |
| |{{dts|23 May 1969}} | First docking of two crewed spacecraft around another celestial body.
First lunar mission to include a lunar landing module. | 20px USA (NASA) | Apollo 10 |
| |{{dts|20 July 1969}} | First human on another celestial body (the Moon).
First words spoken from another world. | 20px USA (NASA) | Apollo 11 |
| 21 July 1969
|First space launch from another celestial body. First sample return from another celestial body. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|19 November 1969}} | First rendezvous on the surface of a celestial body.
First meet up between human explorers and a robotic spacecraft in space (on the Moon). | 20px USA (NASA) | Apollo 12/Surveyor 3 |
1970–1979
{{sticky header}}
| class="wikitable sticky-header" | |||
| Date
! Mission success ! Country/organization ! Mission name !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |{{dts|14 April 1970}} | Farthest distance from Earth traveled by humans. | 20px USA (NASA) | Apollo 13
|{{cite book |editor-last=Glenday |editor-first=Craig |editor-link=Craig Glenday|title=Guinness World Records 2010|year=2010|publisher=Bantam Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-553-59337-2|url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00vari/page/13 |page=13}}{{NoteTag|The record was set because the Moon was nearly at its furthest from Earth during the mission. Apollo 13's unique free return trajectory caused it to go approximately {{convert|100|km |
| 1|sp=us}} further from the lunar far side than other Apollo lunar missions, but this was a minor contribution to the record.{{cite magazine|title=The Elusive Human Maximum Altitude Record|last1=Adamo|first1=Daniel|magazine=Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly|volume=16|issue=4|year=2009|issn=1065-7738|url=http://www.aiaahouston.org/Horizons/ApolloMaxH.pdf|page=37}} A reconstruction of the trajectory by astrodynamicist Daniel Adamo in 2009 records the furthest distance as {{convert|400046|km|sp=us}} at 7:34 pm EST (00:34:13 UTC). Apollo 10 holds the record for second-furthest at a distance of {{convert|399806|km|sp=us}}.{{sfn|Adamo|2009|p=41}}}} | |||
| |{{dts|24 September 1970}} | First automatic sample return from the Moon. | 20px USSR | Luna 16
| |
| |{{dts|17 November 1970}} | First rover on another celestial body (the Moon).
First lunar rover. | 20px USSR | Lunokhod 1
| |
| |{{dts|12 December 1970}} | First X-ray orbital observatory. | 20px USA (NASA) | Uhuru
| |
| valign=top|{{dts|15 December 1970}} | First soft landing on another planet (Venus). First signals from another planet. |valign=top|20px USSR |valign=top|Venera 7 | | ||
| |{{dts|19 April 1971}} | First space station. | 20px USSR | Salyut 1
| |
| |{{dts|June, 1971}} | First crewed orbital observatory. | 20px USSR | Orion 1
| |
| 30 July 1971
|First motor vehicle on another celestial body (Lunar Roving Vehicle). |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|14 November 1971}} | First spacecraft to orbit another planet (Mars). | 20px USA (NASA) | Mariner 9
| |
| |{{dts|27 November 1971}} | First spacecraft to impact another planet (Mars). | 20px USSR | Mars 2
| |
| valign="top" |{{dts|2 December 1971}} | First soft landing on Mars. First signals from Martian surface. First photograph from Martian surface. | valign="top" |20px USSR | valign="top" |Mars 3 | | ||
| |{{dts|3 March 1972}} | First spacecraft on a trajectory out of the Solar System.
First spacecraft to use all-nuclear electrical power (SNAP-19 RTGs). | 20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer 10 |
| |{{dts|15 July 1972}} | First spacecraft to enter the asteroid belt.
First spacecraft beyond the orbit of Mars. | 20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer 10 |
| |{{dts|15 November 1972}} | First orbital gamma ray observatory. | 20px USA (NASA) | SAS 2
| |
| 3 November 1973
|First mission sent to study Mercury. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|3 December 1973}} | First flyby of Jupiter.
First spacecraft beyond the Inner Solar System. | 20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer 10 |
| January 1974
|First spacecraft to return data on a long-period comet. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|5 February 1974}} | First mission to explore two planets in a single mission (Mercury and Venus). First photograph of Venus from space. First use of solar wind for spacecraft orientation. | 20px USA (NASA) | Mariner 10 |
| |{{dts|29 March 1974}} | First flyby of Mercury. | 20px USA (NASA) | Mariner 10 |
| 21 Sept. 1974
|First spacecraft to flyby the same planet multiple times (Mercury). |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|15 July 1975}} | First multinational crewed mission. | 20px USSR 20px USA (NASA) | Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
| |
| |{{dts|20 October 1975}} | First spacecraft to orbit Venus. | 20px USSR | Venera 9
| |
| |{{dts|22 October 1975}} | First successful photos from the surface of another planet (Venus). | 20px USSR | Venera 9
| |
| |{{dts|20 July 1976}} | First successful photos and soil samples from the surface of Mars. | 20px USA (NASA) | Viking Lander
| |
| |{{dts|26 January 1978}} | First real time remotely operated ultraviolet orbital observatory. | 20px USA (NASA) 20px ESA 20px UK (SERC) | International Ultraviolet Explorer
| |
| 20 November 1978
|First spacecraft to orbit the Sun at Lagrange 1. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|4 December 1978}} | First extended (multi-year) orbital exploration of Venus (from 1978 to 1992). | 20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer Venus Orbiter
| |
| |{{dts|5 March 1979}} | Jupiter flyby (closest approach 349,000 km) Encounters with five Jovian moons. Discovery of volcanism on Io. | 20px USA (NASA) | Voyager 1
| |
| |{{dts|1 September 1979}} | First flyby of Saturn.
First photograph of Titan from deep space. | 20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer 11
| |
1980–1989
{{sticky header}}
| class="wikitable sticky-header" | |||
| Date
! Mission success ! Country/organization ! Mission name !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |{{dts|12 November 1980}} | Saturn flyby (closest approach 124,000 km), close encounter of Titan and encounters with a dozen other moons. | 20px USA (NASA) | Voyager 1
| |
| |{{dts|12 April 1981}} | First reusable crewed orbital spacecraft (Space Shuttle). | 20px USA (NASA) | STS-1
| |
| |{{dts|1 March 1982}} | First Venus soil samples
First sound recording of another world (Venus). | 20px USSR | Venera 13
| |
| 10 June 1982
|First spacecraft to conduct a deep survey of Earth's magnetic tail. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|19 August 1982}} | First mixed gender crew aboard space station, and first woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, on space station. | 20px USSR | Salyut 7
| |
| 1982
|First plants grown in space (Arabidopsis). |20px USSR |Salyut 7 |{{Cite journal |last1=Merkys |first1=A. J. |last2=Laurinavicius |first2=R. S. |last3=Svegzdiene |first3=D. V. |date=1984 |title=Plant growth, development and embryogenesis during Salyut-7 flight |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11539644/ |journal=Advances in Space Research |volume=4 |issue=10 |pages=55–63 |doi=10.1016/0273-1177(84)90224-2 |issn=0273-1177 |pmid=11539644 |access-date=2023-02-02 |archive-date=2023-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202165758/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11539644/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=First species of plant to flower in space |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-species-of-plant-to-flower-in-space |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=Guinness World Records |language=en-gb |archive-date=2019-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422110352/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-species-of-plant-to-flower-in-space |url-status=live }} | |||
| |{{dts|25 January 1983}} | First Infrared orbital observatory. | 20px USA (NASA) 20px UK (SERC) 20px Netherlands (NIVR) | IRAS
| |
| |{{dts|13 June 1983}} | First spacecraft beyond the orbit of Neptune.
First spacecraft beyond all Solar System planets. |20px USA (NASA) | Pioneer 10 | |
| |{{dts|7 February 1984}} | First untethered spacewalk (Bruce McCandless II). | 20px USA (NASA) | STS-41-B
| |
| |{{dts|25 July 1984}} | First spacewalk by a woman (Svetlana Savitskaya). | 20px USSR | Salyut 7
| |
| |{{dts|11 June 1985}} | First balloon deployed on another planet (Venus). | 20px USSR | Vega 1
| |
| 11 September 1985
|First spacecraft to flyby a comet (21P/Giacobini-Zinner).{{NoteTag|Soviet spacecraft Vega 1 and Vega 2 and ESA spacecraft Giotto all made a flyby of Halley's Comet the year after, in 1986.|name=}} |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| |{{dts|24 January 1986}} | First spacecraft to flyby Uranus. | 20px USA (NASA) | Voyager 2 |
| |{{dts|19 February 1986}} | First consistently inhabited long-term research space station. | 20px USSR | Mir
| |
| |{{dts| 13 March 1986}} | First close up observations of a comet (Halley's Comet, 596 kilometers). | 20px ESA | Giotto
| |
| {{dts|July 1988}}
|First suspected detection of an exoplanet (Gamma Cephei Ab).{{NoteTag|Although the discovery was retracted in 1994, and not confirmed until 2002.}} |Astronomers Bruce Campbell, Gordon Walker and Stephenson Yang. | |||
| {{dts|8 August 1989}}
|First astrometric satellite. |20px ESA | | |||
| {{dts|25 August 1989}}
|First spacecraft to flyby Neptune. First spacecraft to study all four of the Solar System's giant planets at close range. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| {{dts|18 November 1989}}
|First orbital cosmic microwave observatory. |20px USA (NASA) |COBE | |
1990–1999
| class="wikitable"
! Date ! Mission success ! Country/organization ! Mission name !{{Abbr|Ref(s).|Reference(s)}} | |||
| {{dts|14 February 1990}}
| First photograph of the whole Solar System (Family Portrait). | 20px USA (NASA) | |||
| {{dts|24 April 1990}}
|First telescope designed to be repaired in space. | |||
| {{dts| 2 July 1990}}
|First time a spacecraft coming from deep space uses the Earth for a gravity-assist manoeuvre. |20px ESA | |||
| {{dts|21 October 1991}}
|First asteroid flyby (951 Gaspra closest approach 1,600 km). |20px USA (NASA) | | |||
| 1992
|First confirmed observation of an exoplanet. |Aleksander Wolszczan & Dale Frail | | |||
| {{dts|8 February 1992}}
|First polar orbit around the Sun. First mission to survey the space environment above and below the poles of the Sun. | |||
| {{dts|13 September 1992}}
|First spacecraft to map Venus in its entirety. |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| {{dts|22 March 1995}}
|Record longest duration spaceflight to date (437.7 day by Valeri Polyakov). |Mir | | |||
| {{dts|July 1995}}
|Identification and confirmation of the first exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star. | |||
| {{dts|7 December 1995}}
|First orbit of Jupiter. |20px USA (NASA) | | |||
| |{{dts|7 December 1995}} | First spacecraft to enter the atmosphere of a gas giant (Jupiter). | 20px USA (NASA) | Galileo{{'}}s atmospheric entry probe |
| 1995
|First laser communication from space. | |||
| |{{dts|12 February 1997}} | First orbital radio observatory. | 20px Japan (ISAS) | HALCA
| |
| {{dts|4 July 1997}}
|First operational rover on another planet (Mars). |20px USA (NASA) | | |||
| {{dts|17 September 1997}}
|First spacecraft to use aerobraking to enter orbit (Martian orbit). |20px USA (NASA) | |||
| {{dts|20 November 1998}}
|First multinational space station. |20px Russia (FKA) | |
2000–2009
2010–2019
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Since 2020
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Notes
{{reflist|group=note}}
See also
- Discovery and exploration of the Solar System
- List of spaceflight records
- List of spaceflight records#Human spaceflight firsts
- Timeline of Solar System exploration – A comprehensive list of events in the exploration of the Solar System.
- Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes – A comprehensive list of artificial satellites and space probes.
- Timeline of space travel by nationality
- Timeline of spaceflight – Chronological list of events in spaceflight broken down as a separate article for each year
- Timeline of private spaceflight – For first achievements by private space companies
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.spacechronology.com Chronology of Space Exploration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525172729/http://spacechronology.com/ |date=2017-05-25 }} archive of important space exploration missions and events, including future planned and proposed endeavors
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060915005252/http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/CosmosNotes/manchr1.htm Crewed spaceflight 1961–1980]
- [https://archive.today/20070219132314/http://pages.prodigy.net/pxkb94ars/Timeline/index.html Crewed spaceflight chronology]
- [http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_missions/manned_table.html History of crewed space missions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207041857/http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_missions/manned_table.html |date=2009-02-07 }}
- [http://www.historyshots.com/space/timeline.cfm Timeline of the Space Race/Moon Race] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119095447/http://www.historyshots.com/space/timeline.cfm |date=2005-11-19 }}
- [http://www.russianspaceweb.com/chronology_moon_race.html Chronology: Moon Race at russianspaceweb.com]
- [https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/769131/space-timeline#vars!date=1957-10-04_01:59:57! Space Timeline in 3d]
{{Planetary exploration}}
{{Space exploration lists and timelines}}
{{Exploration}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of Space Exploration}}