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Space Age facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Space Shuttle Columbia launching
The Space Shuttle lifts off on a crewed mission to space.

The Space Age is a special time in human history. It's all about the exciting race to space, exploring the universe, and creating amazing space technology. Many people believe this era began in 1957 when the first satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched. We are still living in the Space Age today! This period has also greatly influenced our culture, appearing in movies, television shows, music, art, and even architecture.

Exploring Space: Key Moments in History

See also: Timeline of space exploration

The Space Age is filled with incredible "firsts" that changed how we see our universe. Here are some of the most important milestones in space exploration:

Date What Happened First Mission Who (or What) Country
June 20, 1944 Object in outer space (beyond the Kármán line) V-2 rocket test flight – N/A Germany
October 24, 1946 Pictures from space (105 km high) U.S.-launched V-2 rocket – N/A United States
February 20, 1947 Animals in space U.S.-launched V-2 rocket Fruit flies United States
October 4, 1957 Artificial satellite in orbit Sputnik 1 – N/A Soviet Union
November 3, 1957 Animal in orbit Sputnik 2 Laika the dog Soviet Union
January 2, 1959 Spacecraft flew past the Moon and entered orbit around the Sun Luna 1 – N/A Soviet Union
September 12, 1959 Object reached the Moon's surface Luna 2 – N/A Soviet Union
October 7, 1959 Pictures of the far side of the Moon Luna 3 – N/A Soviet Union
April 12, 1961 Human in space Vostok 1 Yuri Gagarin Soviet Union
May 5, 1961 Human space mission that landed with the pilot inside Freedom 7 Alan Shepard United States
December 14, 1962 Successful flyby of another planet (Venus) Mariner 2 – N/A United States
March 18, 1965 Spacewalk Voskhod 2 Alexei Leonov Soviet Union
December 15, 1965 Space rendezvous (two spacecraft meeting in space) Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 Schirra, Stafford, Borman, Lovell United States
February 3, 1966 Soft landing on the Moon by a spacecraft Luna 9 – N/A Soviet Union
March 1, 1966 Human-made object impacted another planet Venera 3 – N/A Soviet Union
March 16, 1966 Orbital docking between two spacecraft Gemini 8 & Agena Target Vehicle Neil Armstrong, David Scott United States
April 3, 1966 Artificial satellite of another celestial body (the Moon) Luna 10 – N/A Soviet Union
October 18, 1967 Spacecraft sent data from another planet's atmosphere Venera 4 – N/A Soviet Union
December 21–27, 1968 Humans orbited the Moon Apollo 8 Borman, Lovell, Anders United States
July 20, 1969 Humans landed and walked on the Moon Apollo 11 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin United States
December 15, 1970 First data sent from the surface of another planet Venera 7 – N/A Soviet Union
April 19, 1971 Operational space station Salyut 1 – N/A Soviet Union
June 7, 1971 Resident crew lived on a space station Soyuz 11 (on Salyut 1) Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, Viktor Patsayev Soviet Union
July 20, 1976 Pictures from the surface of Mars Viking 1 – N/A United States
April 12, 1981 Reusable orbital spaceship STS-1 Young, Crippen United States
February 19, 1986 Long-duration space station Mir – N/A Soviet Union
February 14, 1990 Photograph of the whole Solar System Voyager 1 – N/A United States
November 20, 1998 Current space station International Space Station – N/A Russia
August 25, 2012 Artificial space probe in interstellar space (beyond our solar system) Voyager 1 – N/A United States
November 12, 2014 Probe made a planned soft landing on a comet Rosetta – N/A European Space Agency
July 14, 2015 Nation to have its space probes explore all nine major planets (recognized in 1981) New Horizons – N/A United States
December 20, 2015 Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a ground pad Falcon 9 flight 20 – N/A United States
April 8, 2016 Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a floating platform at sea SpaceX CRS-8 – N/A United States
March 30, 2017 Relaunch and second landing of a used orbital rocket booster SES-10 – N/A United States
January 3, 2019 Soft landing on the lunar far side by a spacecraft Chang'e 4 – N/A China
May 30, 2020 First human orbital spaceflight launched by a private company Crew Dragon Demo-2 Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley United States

Images for kids

  • Falcon Heavy Side Boosters landing on LZ1 and LZ2 - 2018 (25254688767)

    SpaceX's Falcon Heavy reusable side boosters land in unison at Cape Canaveral Landing Zones 1 and 2 following test flight on 6 February 2018.

  • Opel RAK1 2

    Opel RAK.1 - World's first public flight of a manned rocket-powered plane on September 30, 1929

  • 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville3

    Iconic rocket ship-shaped tail lights and fins on a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville

  • Town Motel - Birmingham, Alabama

    Satellite-influenced signage at the Town Motel in Birmingham, Alabama

  • Twa-moonliner1

    TWA Moonliner II replica atop the restored TWA Corporate Headquarters building in Kansas City, MO, 2007

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Era espacial para niños

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