A Brief History of Space Travel

Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon

Soviet Soyuz 1 is launched, carrying Vladimir M. Komarov. On April 24 it crashed, killing Komarov, the first spaceflight fatality

Apollo 8 is launched with Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr. and William A. Anders, the first Apollo to use the Saturn V rocket, and the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon, making 10 orbits on its 6-day mission

Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the Moon, and the first moonwalk, using Apollo 11

Apollo 13 is launched, suffering an explosion in its SM oxygen tanks. Its Moon landing is aborted, and the crew, James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr. and Fred W. Haise, Jr., return safely

Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin drive the first moon rover. The next year, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt drives a similar rover.

Soviet Salyut 3, their first military space station, is launched. It remains in orbit until January 1975

Soviet Salyut 4, civilian space station, is launched. It remains in orbit until February 2, 1977

Two Pioneer spacecraft reach Venus. One drops four probes into the atmosphere, while the other maps the surface

Soviet Salyut 7 space station is launched

The space shuttle Challenger lifts off for its first mission (STS-6) and has the first American space walk in nine years. Crew: Paul Weitz, Karol Bobko, Donald Peterson, and Story Musgrave

Launch of space shuttle Challenger mission STS-41G carrying the first crew with two women aboard - Sally Ride and Katherine Sullivan. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to walk in space

The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff of mission STS-51L

The core unit of Soviet space station Mir is launched

Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-31, deploying the Edwin P. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) astronomical observatory

Mars Observer lifts off, the first American probe to Mars in 17 years, since Viking 2. This probe is intended as an orbital mapper to study the red planet's atmosphere, surface, and geological make-up. The spacecraft functions well during its cruise to Mars, then all contact was lost on August 21, 1993, three days before orbital insertion

Space shuttle Discovery maneuvers to within 37 feet of Russian space station Mir, in preparation for a shuttle-Mir docking (STS-63). This is the first shuttle mission to be flown by a female pilot

The first component of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched on a Russian rocket. This Russian built, U.S. financed module provides communications, electrical power, and attitude control for the station until the arrival of the third module (Zvezda, in July 2000)

Loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, Returning from its 28th mission, America's oldest space shuttle breaks up on reentry high over Texas. The cause proves to be damage to the heat shielding, incurred when a block of foam broke off the external fuel tank during lunch and hit the shuttle's left wing

Spirit rover lands on Mars to explore the martian surface

Opportunity Rover Landing on Mars