1951
- June 1
- S Arend discovers asteroids #1592 Mathieu and #1593 Fagnes. [1]
- June 27
- M Itzigsohn discovers asteroid #1588 Descamisada. [1]
- July 10
- E L Johnson discovers asteroid #1609 Brenda. [1]
- July 30
- E L Johnson discovers asteroid #2718. [1]
- September 29
- S B Nicholson discovers 12th satellite of Jupiter. [1]
1952
- July 25
- Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #1788 Kiess. [1]
1953
- June 6
- J Churms discovers asteroid #2025. [1]
- July 6
- J Churms discovers asteroid #1701 Okavango. [1]
- July 13
- J A Bruwer discovers asteroids #1658 Innes and #3284. [1]
- August 21
- Marion Carl in Douglas Skyrocket reaches record altitude 25,370m. [1]
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1954
- March 19
- First rocket-driven sled on rails is tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. [1]
- May 24
- First rocket attains 150 mile (241 km) altitude, White Sands, New Mexico, USA. [1]
- November 10
- Lieutenant Colonel John Strapp travels 632mph in a rocket sled. [1]
- November 30
- First meteorite (8 pounds) known to strike a woman (Liz Hodges in Sylacauga, Alabama, USA). [1]
1955
- February 12
- Soviets dedicate space center built in Baikonur, Kazachstan. [1]
- May 15
- Building of space travel center at Baikonur, Kazachstan begins. [1]
- May 31
- Construction begins on Soviet cosmodrome launch facilities. [1]
- July 27
- Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #1751 Herget. [1]
1956
- May 2
- US Lab detects high-temperature microwave radiation from Venus. [1]
- December 8
- First test firing of the Vanguard satellite program, TV-0. [1]
1957
- May 1
- Vanguard TV-1 booster test reaches 195 km. [1]
- June 23
- S B Nicholson discovers asteroid #1647 Menelaus. [1]
- August 20
- US Air Force balloon breaks an altitude record at 102,000 feet (310,896 metres). [1]
- October 4
- USSR launches Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth satellite. [1] [249.41] [375.16]
- October 23
- First test firing of Vanguard satellite launch vehicle, TV-3. [1]
- November 3
- USSR launches Sputnik 2 with a dog (Laika), first animal in orbit. [1]
- December 6
- First US attempt to launch a satellite fails - Vanguard rocket blows up. [1]
1958
- January 4
- Sputnik 1 re-enters Earth's atmosphere from its orbit and burns up. [1] [5]
- January 31
- James van Allen discovers radiation belt. [1]
- US launches their first artificial satellite, Explorer 1. [1]
- February 5
- Vanguard TV-3 back-up launches into Earth orbit; reaches 6 km. [1]
- March 5
- Explorer 2 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- March 17
- Navy launches Vanguard 1 into orbit (second US satellite), measures Earth shape. [1]
- March 19
- Britain's first planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London. [1]
- March 26
- US Army launches America's third successful satellite, Explorer III. [1]
- April 2
- American National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA. [1]
- April 14
- Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere. [1]
- April 28
- Vanguard TV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- May 15
- USSR launches Sputnik III. [1]
- May 23
- Explorer 1 ceases transmission. [5]
- May 27
- Vanguard SLV-1 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- June 26
- Vanguard SLV-2 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- July 26
- Army launches fourth US successful satellite, Explorer IV. [1]
- July 29
- President Dwight Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [1] [229.91] [452.94] [861.174]
- August 17
- World's first Moon probe, USA's Thor-Able, explodes 77 seconds after launch. [1] [245.4]
- September 14
- German engineer Ernst Mohr's two rockets - the first German post-war rockets - reach the upper atmosphere. [5]
- October 1
- US National Aeronautics and Space Administration begins operations, taking over duties of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. [1] [249.41] [452.94]
- Vanguard Project transferred from military to NASA. [1]
- October 7
- US manned space-flight project renamed Project Mercury. [1]
- October 11
- Second US Moon probe, Pioneer 1, reaches 113,810 km, falls back. [1]
- December 6
- US lunar probe Pioneer 3 reaches 107,269 km, falls back. [1]
- December 18
- First test project of Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment. [1]
- December 19
- First radio broadcast from space (recorded Christmas message by President Eisenhower: "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men Everywhere"). [1] [457]
1959
- January 4
- Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes first spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity and reach the vicinity of the Moon. [1] [5]
- February 17
- First weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2, 9.8kg. [1]
- February 28
- Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-first polar orbit. [1]
- March 3
- Pioneer 4 is launched; becomes first US probe to enter solar orbit. [1]
- March 4
- US Pioneer IV misses Moon and becomes second (US first) artificial planet. [1]
- March 6
- Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles away). [1]
- March 9
- First known radar contact is made with Venus. [1]
- April 7
- Radar first bounced off sun, from Stanford, California. [1]
- April 9
- NASA names first seven astronauts for Project Mercury. [1]
- April 13
- US Air Force launches Discoverer II into polar orbit. [1]
- Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- April 17
- A bright fireball is photographed by a synchronized network of cameras over Czechoslovakia, breaking up into about 19 pieces, with four recovered near Pribram. The photos allow determination of the asteroid belt as place of origin. [523]
- May 28
- US Congressional Committee of Astronautics meets Project 7 astronauts. [1]
- Monkeys Able and Baker zoom 300 miles (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, became first animals retrieved from a space mission. [1]
- June 22
- Vanguard SLV-6 launched for Earth orbit (failed). [1]
- July 26
- C Hoffmeister discovers asteroid #2183. [1]
- August 7
- Explorer 6 transmits first TV photo of Earth from space. [1]
- September 12
- Luna 2 launched by USSR; first spacecraft to impact on the Moon. [1] [5]
- September 14
- The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach the Moon. [5]
- September 17
- Transit 1A, first navigational satellite launched; failed to orbit. [1]
- September 18
- Vanguard 3 is launched into orbit to measure local phenomena related to Earth's atmosphere. [1] [5]
- September 28
- Explorer VI reveals an intense radiation belt around the Earth. [1]
- October 7
- U.S.S.R. probe Luna 3 transmits the first ever photographs of the far side of the Moon. [1] [5]
- December 1
- The first color photograph of Earth is received from outer space. [1]
- December 4
- A monkey returns to Earth safely, after being launched 55 miles high into outer space by the United States space program. [5]
- December 12
- United Nations Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space is established. [1]
1960
- January 2
- John Reynolds sets age of solar system at 4,950,000,000 years. [1]
- January 21
- Little Joe 4 suborbital Mercury test reaches 16 km. [1]
- January 28
- First photograph bounced off Moon, from Washington DC. [1]
- March 11
- Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth and Venus. [1]
- March 15
- National Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona dedicated. [1]
- March 23
- Explorer 8 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- April 1
- RCA TIROS (TV and Infra-Red Observation 'weather' Satellite) I launched. [1]
- April 4
- Project Ozma begins at Green Bank radio astronomy center. [1]
- April 11
- First weather satellite launched (Tiros 1). [1]
- April 13
- Transit 1B, first navigational satellite, placed in Earth orbit. [1]
- May 13
- First launch of Delta satellite launching vehicle; it fails. [1]
- May 15
- Sputnik 4 launched into Earth orbit; later recovery failed. [1]
- July 29
- J Schubart discovers asteroid #2000 Herschel. [1]
- August 10
- Discoverer 13 launched into orbit; returned first object from space. [1]
- August 12
- Echo I, first communications satellite, is launched. [1] [5]
- August 18
- First photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. [1]
- August 19
- The Soviet Union launches the Sputnik 5 satellite with dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. [1] [5]
- October 4
- Courier 1B launched; first active repeater satellite in orbit. [1]
- October 24
- Disaster on USSR launch pad, kills missile expert Nedelin and team (unconfirmed); USSR claims he was killed in plane crash. [1]
- November 12
- Mercury-Redstone 1 test launch fails at 10 cm altitude. [1]
- November 23
- Tiros 2, a weather satellite is launched. [1]
- December 19
- Mercury-Redstone 1A reaches 210 km in test flight. [1]
1961
- January 31
- "Ham" is first primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2. [1]
- US Air Force launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights. [1]
- February 4
- Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure. [1]
- February 12
- USSR launches Venera 1 toward Venus. [1] [5]
- February 16
- First all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, Virginia, USA. [1]
- US satellite Explorer 9 is launched. [1]
- February 21
- Mercury-Atlas 2 reentry test reaches 172 km. [1]
- February 24
- Explorer 10 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- March 9
- Sputnik 9 carries Chernushka (dog) into orbit. [1]
- March 25
- Explorer 10 is launched into elongated Earth orbit (177/181,000 km). [1]
- Sputnik 10 carries a dog into Earth orbit; later recovered. [1]
- April 12
- USSR Vostok program launches Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin into Earth orbit, becoming first person to orbit Earth aboard Vostok 1. [1] [452.94] [627.60] [1140.131]
- April 20
- American Harold Graham makes first rocket belt flight. [1]
- April 25
- Mercury/Atlas rocket lifts off with an electronic mannequin. [1]
- April 27
- NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays. [1]
- May 5
- American NASA space program launches Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7 toward space, becomes first American in space, lasting 15 minutes, landing 302.5 miles downrange. [1] [627.60] [1140.131]
- May 24
- Explorer 12 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- May 25
- US President John Kennedy appeals to Congress that the nation should commit to "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth" by the end of the decade. [1] [5] [129] [452.94]
- June 29
- Launch of Transit 4a, with first nuclear power supply (SNAP-3). [1]
- June 30
- Explorer 12 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- July 21
- American NASA program launches Mercury 4 (Liberty Bell) with Gus Grissom, in space for 16 minutes, lands 303 miles downrange. [1] [1140.131]
- August 6
- Gherman S Titov, second Russian in space aboard Vostok 2 (17 orbits), first case of motion sickness in space reported. [1] [1140.131]
- August 7
- Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2. [1]
- August 23
- US lunar probe Ranger 1 reaches 190 km from Earth, falls back. [1]
- September 13
- Unmanned Mercury-Atlas 4 launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- October 27
- First Saturn launch vehicle makes an unmanned flight test. [1]
- November 18
- US Ranger 2 launched to Moon; failed. [1]
- November 29
- Mercury-Atlas 5 carries a chimp (Enos) to orbit. [1]
- December 12
- Ham radio satellite Oscar 1 launched with military Discoverer 36. [1]
1962
- January 26
- US launches Ranger 3; misses Moon by 22,000 miles (37,000km). [1]
- February 2
- Eight of nine planets align for first time in 400 years. [1]
- February 5
- Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn within 16 degrees. [1]
- February 20
- At Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, NASA launches the Friendship 7 space craft on a Mercury-Atlas rocket, at 9:48AM, carrying US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn. Glenn is the first American and third person to successfully orbit Earth. The craft makes three orbits in five hours, landing in the Atlantic Ocean at 2:43PM. [1] [129] [452.94] [1140.130]
- March 7
- Launch of OSO 1, first astronomy satellite (solar flare data). [1]
- March 16
- First launching of Titan 2 rocket. [1]
- April 23
- Ranger 4, first US satellite to reach Moon, launched from Cape Canaveral. [1]
- April 24
- MIT sends TV signal by satellite for first time: California to Massachusetts. [1]
- April 25
- US Ranger 4 spacecraft crash lands on the Moon. [1]
- April 26
- US/United Kingdom launch Ariel; first international payload, first United Kingdom satellite. [1]
- May 8
- First Atlas Centaur Launch. [1]
- May 9
- Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for first time. [1]
- May 24
- M Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7 launched into earth orbit. [1]
- June 1
- Oscar 2 (ham radio satellite) launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- July 9
- The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the USA. [5]
- July 11
- Cosmonaut Micolaev sets record longest space flight - four days. [1]
- July 12
- First time two manned crafts in space (USSR). [1]
- July 22
- First US Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off, falls into Atlantic Ocean. [1]
- August 11
- Andrian G Nikolayev becomes third Russian in space aboard Vostok 3. [1]
- August 12
- Russia launches Vostok 4 with Pavel Popovich, who lands safely August 15. [1]
- August 27
- Mariner 2 launched; first probe to fly by Venus. [1]
- September 17
- US space officials announce selection of nine new astronauts. [1]
- September 29
- Launch of Alouette 1, first Canadian satellite (on US Delta rocket). [1]
- October 1
- US National Radio Astronomy Observatory gets a 300-foot (91-metre) radio telescope. [1]
- October 3
- Wally Schirra in Sigma 7 launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- October 12
- US/USSR sign joint space effort in telecommunications and meteorology. [1]
- October 18
- US launches Ranger 5 for lunar impact; misses Moon. [1]
- November 1
- USSR launches Mars 1; radio contact lost before arrival at Mars. [1]
- December 13
- Relay 1 communication satellite launched. [1]
- December 14
- Mariner 2 launched; makes first US visit to another planet (Venus). [1]
- December 19
- Transit 5A1, first operational navigational satellite, launched. [1]
1963
- January 4
- Soviet Luna (4) reaches Earth orbit but fails to reach Moon. [1]
- February 5
- Maarten Schmidt discovers enormous red shifts in quasars. [1]
- February 14
- US launches communications satellite Syncom 1. [1]
- April 2
- Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km). [1]
- USSR launches Luna 4; misses Moon by 8,500 km. [1]
- May 7
- SETC Telstar 2 launched (apogee 6,700 miles (10,800 km)). [1]
- May 15
- The final Mercury mission is launched, with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper - who becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space. [1] [5]
- May 16
- Gordon Cooper completes 22 orbits in Faith 7, ends US Project Mercury. [1]
- June 14
- Valery Bykovsky in Vostok 5 orbits Earth 81 times in five days. [1]
- July 26
- US Syncom 2, first geosynchronous communications satellite, is launched. [1]
- August 22
- Launched from Edwards Air Force Base in California, American Joe Walker flies an X-15 rocket plane to a record height of 66 miles. [1575.24]
- November 12
- US President John Kennedy instructs NASA administrator James Webb to develop a program of "joint space and lunar exploration" with the Soviet Union. [861.176]
1964
- January 25
- Echo 2 US communications satellite launched. [1]
- January 29
- Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit. [1]
- January 30
- Ranger 6 launched; makes perfect flight to Moon, but cameras fail. [1]
- March 20
- European Space Research Organization established. [1]
- April 2
- USSR launches Zond 1 to Venus; no data returned. [1]
- April 8
- Unmanned Gemini 1 launched. [1]
- May 28
- Unmanned Apollo 2 Saturn rocket test launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- June 30
- Centaur 3 launch vehicle fails to make Earth orbit. [1]
- July 28
- Ranger 7 launched toward the Moon. [1]
- July 31
- US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on the Moon. These are the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. [1] [5]
- September 4
- NASA launches its first Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1). [1]
- October 12
- Launch of Voskhod 1, first three man crew (Komarov, Feokistov, Yegorov). [1]
- October 13
- Voskhod 1 crew returns. [1]
- November 5
- US launches Mariner 3 toward Mars; no data returned. [1]
- November 28
- Mariner 4 launched; first probe to fly by Mars. [1]
- November 30
- USSR launches Zond 2 towards Mars; no data returned. [1]
- December 15
- First time four people in space. [1]
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