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This is a timeline of achievements inSoviet andUnited Statesspaceflight, spanning theCold War era of nationalistic competition known as theSpace Race.

This list is limited to first achievements by the USSR and USA which were important during the Space Race in terms of public perception and/or technical innovation. This excludes first uses of specific on-board equipment and new scientific discoveries, or achievements by other countries.

Date	Country	Achievement	Mission / Vehicle
1955 July 29	USA	The United States announces their intention to launch anartificial satellite[1] during theInternational Geophysical Year (1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958).	/
1955 August 30	USSR	In theSoviet Union, the commission approved launching a 1 ton satellite using theR-7 ICBM.[1]	/

Date	Country	Achievement	Mission / Vehicle
1957 August 21	USSR	Firstintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM); fully operational September 1957	R-7 Semyorka
1957 October 4	USSR	First artificialsatellite First man-madesignals from orbit	Sputnik 1
1957 November 3	USSR	First mammal (the dogLaika) inorbit around Earth.	Sputnik 2
1958 March 17	USA	Firstsolar-powered satellite	Vanguard 1
1959 January 2	USSR	Firstlunarspacecraft (fly-by) First rocket engine restart in Earth orbit First spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit First spacecraft on anescape trajectory from Earth	Luna 1
1959 January 4	USSR	First spacecraft inheliocentric orbit	Luna 1
1959 February 28	USA	First satellite in apolar orbit	Discoverer 1
1959 August 7	USA	First photograph of Earth from orbit	Explorer 6
1959 September 14	USSR	Firsthard landing on another celestial body (theMoon)	Luna 2
1959 October 7	USSR	Firstthree-axis stabilised spacecraft First photos offar side of the Moon, covering 70% of the surface invisible from Earth First automated on board development of photographic film and conversion toradio signals Firstgravity assist ('sling shot'), returning the spacecraft to Earth to retrieve the photos	Luna 3

Date	Country	Achievement	Mission / Vehicle
1960 August 11	USA	First satellite recovered intact from orbit	Discoverer 13
1960 August 18	USA	Firstspy photography from space First aerial recovery of an object (the film) returning from Earth orbit	Discoverer 14
1960 August 19	USSR	First animals and plants returned alive from space (the dogsBelka and Strelka) First capsule recovered from orbit	Korabl-Sputnik 2 (aka Sputnik 5)
1961 January 31	USA	First great ape orHominidae in space,Ham, a chimpanzee	Mercury-Redstone 2
1961 February 12	USSR	First launch from Earth orbit ofupper stage into a heliocentric orbit Firstmid-course corrections Firstspin-stabilisation	Venera 1
1961 April 12	USSR	Firsthuman spaceflight mission (Yuri Gagarin)[2] First orbital flight of a manned vehicle	Vostok 1
1961 May 5	USA	First pilot-controlled space flight (Alan Shepard)	Freedom 7
1961 May 19	USSR	Firstplanetary flyby (Venus), although contact was lost	Venera 1
1961 August 6	USSR	First crewed mission lasting a full day (Gherman Titov).	Vostok 2
1962 August 12	USSR	First dual crewed spaceflight (Andriyan Nikolayev andPavel Popovich) First spacecraft-to-spacecraft radio contact First simultaneous flight of crewed spacecraft. First person to float freely in microgravity.	Vostok 3 /Vostok 4
1962 December 14	USA	First successful planetary flyby mission (Venus).	Mariner 2
1963 June 16	USSR	First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova) First civilian in space	Vostok 6
1963 June 19	USSR	FirstMars flyby, although contact was lost	Mars 1
1963 July 19	USA	First reusable piloted spacecraft Firstspaceplane (suborbital)	X-15 Flight 90
1963 July 26	USA	Firstgeosynchronous satellite	Syncom 2
1964 August 19	USA	Firstgeostationary satellite	Syncom 3
1964 October 12	USSR	First spaceflight to carry more than one crewman into orbit (3)	Voskhod 1
1965 March 18	USSR	Firstextra-vehicular activity ("space walk")	Voskhod 2
1965 March 23	USA	First piloted spacecraft orbit change	Gemini 3
1965 July 14	USA	First successfulMars flyby mission	Mariner 4
1965 December 15	USA	First rendezvous of manned spacecraft	Gemini 6A &Gemini 7
1966 February 3	USSR	Firstsoft landing on another celestial body (the Moon) First photos from another celestial body	Luna 9
1966 March 1	USSR	First hard landing on another planet (Venus)	Venera 3
1966 March 16	USA	First spacecraftdocking	Gemini 8 /ATV
1966 April 3	USSR	First artificial satellite to orbit another celestial body (the Moon)	Luna 10
1966 September 12	USA	First direct-ascent (first orbit) rendezvous	Gemini 11 /ATV
1967 October 18	USSR	First in situ analysis of the atmosphere of another planet (Venus)	Venera 4
1967 October 30	USSR	First docking of two remote-controlled spacecraft	Cosmos 186 /Cosmos 188
1968 September 14–21	USSR	First return to Earth after circling the Moon First life forms to circle the Moon (returned safely)	Zond 5
1968 December 21	USA	First return to Earth after orbiting the Moon First human spaceflight mission to enter the gravitational influence of another celestial body	Apollo 8
1969 January	USSR	First parachute to be deployed on another planet (Venus)	Venera 5
1969 January 16	USSR	First crew exchange in space First docking of two manned spacecraft	Soyuz 4 / Soyuz 5
1969 July 20	USA	First humans on the Moon First space launch from another celestial body Firstsample return from the Moon	Apollo 11
1969 November 19	USA	First precisely targeted piloted landing on the Moon (Surveyor 3 site)	Apollo 12

Date	Country	Achievement	Mission / Vehicle
1970 September 24	USSR	First roboticautomatic sample return from another celestial body (the Moon)	Luna 16
1970 November 23	USSR	Firstlunar rover (remote-controlled) First rover on another celestial body (the Moon)	Lunokhod 1
1970 December 15	USSR	First soft landing on another planet (Venus) First signals from another planet	Venera 7
1971 April 19	USSR	First human-crewedspace station launched	Salyut 1
1971 June 29	USSR	First human-crewedorbital observatory (Orion 1)	Soyuz 11 / Salyut 1
1971 July 31	USA	First human-driven lunar rover, theLunar Roving Vehicle	Apollo 15
1971 November 14	USA	First spacecraft to orbit Mars	Mariner 9
1971 November 27	USSR	First hard landing on Mars	Mars 2
1971 December 2	USSR	First soft Mars landing First signals from Mars surface	Mars 3
1972 March 3	USA	First spacecraft sent on escape trajectory away from the Sun	Pioneer 10
1972 July 15	USA	First mission to enter theasteroid belt and leaveinner Solar System	Pioneer 10
1973 December 3	USA	FirstJupiter flyby	Pioneer 10
1974 March 29	USA	FirstMercury flyby	Mariner 10
1975 July 15	USSR USA	First multinational human-crewed mission[a]	Soyuz 19 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project
1975 October 20	USSR	First spacecraft to orbit Venus (the orbiter) First view and clear photograph from and of the surface of another planet (the lander)	Venera 9
1979 September 1	USA	FirstSaturn flyby	Pioneer 11

Date	Country	Achievement	Mission / Vehicle
1981 April 12	USA	First spaceplane in orbit, theSpace Shuttle (test flight)	STS-1
1984 February 7	USA	First untethered spacewalk,Bruce McCandless II	STS-41-B
1985 June 11	USSR	Firstaerostat balloon in the atmosphere of Venus	Vega 1 probe
1986 January 24	USA	FirstUranus flyby	Voyager 2
1986 February 19	USSR	First module of the first modular space station launched, marking the start of the orbital assembly	Mir Core Module
1989 August 25	USA	FirstNeptune flyby	Voyager 2
1990 February 11	USSR	First consistently inhabited long-term research space station	Mir

On 1991 December 31, theUnited Nations accepted the dissolution of the USSR, which meant the end of the space race.

• List of communications satellite firsts
• List of space exploration milestones, 1957–1969
• Timeline of space exploration
• Timeline of first orbital launches by country
• Timeline of space travel by nationality

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• Brugess, Colin; Kate Doolan; Bert Vis (2003).Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon.Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.ISBN 978-0-8032-6212-6.
• Dallek, Robert (2003).An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston:Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0-316-17238-7.
• Freni, Pamela (2002).Space for Women: A History of Women With the Right Stuff.Santa Ana, California: Seven Locks Press.ISBN 978-1-931643-12-2.
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• Harvey, Brian (2001).Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier?. New York:Springer–Praxis Books.ISBN 978-1-85233-203-7.
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• Thompson, Neal (2004).Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard—America's First Spaceman. New York:Crown Publishers.ISBN 978-0-609-61001-5.
• Wolfe, Tom (2001) [1979].The Right Stuff. New York:Bantam Books.ISBN 978-0-613-91667-7.
• Yeager, Chuck; Leo Janos (1985).Yeager: An Autobiography. New York:Bantam Books.ISBN 978-0-553-05093-6.

• Timeline of the Space Race/Moon Race
• Chronology: Moon Race at russianspaceweb.com

• Lists of firsts in outer space
• Space policy
• Technological races
• Technology timelines
• History of science and technology in the United States
• Soviet Union–United States relations
• Spaceflight timelines
• United States history timelines

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from November 2020
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from November 2020
• Articles lacking in-text citations from October 2019
• All articles lacking in-text citations