Space Exploration

1957 marked the launch of Sputnik 1 by the USSR, the first artificial Earth satellite, beginning the space age.

We have sent spacecraft to every known planet in our solar system, had missions beyond our solar system, and created the ISS.

Early Milestones 1957: Sputnik 1 — first artificial satellite (USSR) 1961: Yuri Gagarin — first human in space (USSR) 1969: Apollo 11 — first humans on the Moon (USA) The Shuttle & Station Era 1981–2011: NASA’s Space Shuttle program 1998–present: Construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS), a joint project of NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA