Chronology of Space Exploration

Copyright © 2007-2024 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
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URL: http://kpolsson.com/space/

References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2023 December 20.

1965

January 20
  • American Jet Propulsion Laboratory proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars and return. [1]
January 22
  • US launches TIROS 9 weather satellite. [1]
January 27
  • First ground station-to-aircraft radio communication via satellite. [1]
February 3
  • Orbiting Solar Observatory 2 is launched into Earth orbit (552/636 km). [1]
February 16
  • Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors. [1]
February 17
  • US Ranger 8 launched; will transmit 7,137 lunar pictures. [1]
February 20
  • Ranger 8 makes hard landing on the Moon, returns photos, other data. [1]
February 22
  • USSR launches Kosmos 57 into earth orbit (Voskhod Test). [1]
March 18
  • USSR launches Voshkod 2; Alexei Leonov makes first spacewalk (20 minutes). [1] [5] [1603.86]
March 21
  • US Ranger 9 launched, last American unmanned lunar space probe; will take 5,814 pictures before lunar impact. [1] [5]
March 23
  • Gemini 3 launched, first US two-man space flight (Grissom and Young). [1]
March 24
  • US Ranger 9 strikes Moon, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of crater Alphonsus. [1]
April 1
  • Syncom 3, first geosynchronous communications satellite, passes from civilian to military control. [1]
April 3
  • First atomic powered spacecraft (SNAP) launched. [1]
April 6
  • Intelsat 1 ("Early Bird") satellite is launched; first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite. [1] [457] [457]
April 16
  • Test flight of heavy Saturn S-1C rocket. [1]

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April 23
  • Launch of first Soviet communications satellite. [1]
May 1
  • USSR launches Luna 5; later impacts on Moon. [1]
May 9
  • Luna 5 launched (USSR); first attempt to soft land on Moon (fails). [1]
June 3
  • Gemini 4 launched; second US two-man flight (McDivitt and White). [1] [5]
June 8
  • USSR launches Luna 6; misses Moon. [1]
June 10
  • A R Klemola discovers asteroid #2370 van Altena. [1]
June 28
  • A R Klemola discovers asteroid #2179 Platzeck. [1]
July 14
  • US Mariner IV, first Mars probe, passes at 6,100 miles (9,800 km). [1]
July 15
  • US scientists display close-up photos of Mars from Mariner IV. [1]
July 18
  • Zond 3 launched to fly by Moon, enters solar orbit. [1] [5]
July 29
  • Gemini 5 returns after 12 days 7 hours 11 minutes 53 seconds in space. [1]
August 21
  • Gemini 5 launched into Earth orbit (two astronauts). [1]
August 29
  • Astronauts Cooper and Conrad complete 120 Earth orbits in Gemini 5. [1]
October 4
  • USSR launches Luna 7; will crash land on Moon. [1]
November 12
  • Venera 2 launched by Soviet Union toward Venus. [1]
November 16
  • The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe, which becomes the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet (Venus). [1] [5]
November 26
  • France launches first satellite, 92 pounds (42kg) A1-capsule (Asterix), becoming third nation in space. [1] [707.169]
December 3
  • USSR launches Luna 8; crashes on Moon. [1]
December 4
  • Gemini 7 is launched with two astronauts (Borman and Lovell). [1]
December 15
  • Gemini 6 launched; will make first rendezvous in space (with Gemini 7). [1]
December 16
  • Gemini 6 returns to Earth. [1]
  • Pioneer 6 launched into solar orbit. [1]
December 17
  • David Levy begins his search for comets. [1]
December 18
  • Borman and Lovell splash down in Atlantic; ends two-week Gemini VII mission. [1]

1966

January 31
  • USSR launches Luna 9 toward the Moon. [1]
February 3
  • First operational weather satellite, ESSA-1, launched (US). [1]
  • First soft landing on the Moon (Soviet Luna 9). [1]
February 17
  • French satellite Diapason D-1A launched into Earth orbit. [1] [707.169]
February 22
  • Soviets launch Kosmos 110 with Veterok and Ugolek, first two-dog crew. [1]
February 26
  • The launch of AS-201 marks the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket. [5]
March 1
  • Venera 3 becomes first man-made object to impact on a planet (Venus). [1]
March 16
  • Gemini 8 launched with Armstrong and Scott; aborted after 6.5 orbits. [1]
March 31
  • USSR launches Luna 10, first lunar orbiter. [1]
April 2
  • Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes first spacecraft to orbit Moon. [1]
April 8
  • OAO 1, the first orbiting astronomical observatory, is launched. [1]
May 30
  • US launches Surveyor 1 to the Moon. [1]
June 2
  • US Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum; first lunar soft-landing. [1]
June 3
  • Gemini 9 launched; 7th US two-man flight (Stafford and Cernan). [1]
June 25
  • Kosmos 122, first Soviet weather satellite, launched. [1]
July 5
  • Saturn I rocket launched at Cape Kennedy. [1]
July 10
  • Orbiter 1 launched to Moon. [1]
July 17
  • Pioneer 7 launched. [1]
July 18
  • Gemini X is launched. [1] [5]
July 21
  • Gemini X returns to Earth. [1]
August 10
  • First lunar orbiter launched by US. [1]
  • Daylight meteor seen from Utah to Canada. Only known case of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere and leaving it again. [1]
August 14
  • First US lunar orbiter begins orbiting the Moon. [1]
August 17
  • Pioneer 7 launched into solar orbit. [1]
August 23
  • Lunar Orbiter 1 takes first photograph of Earth from Moon. [1]
August 24
  • USSR launches Luna 11 for orbit around Moon. [1]
September 12
  • Gemini XI is launched, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder (except for the Apollo lunar missions). [1] [5]
September 15
  • Gemini XI returns to Earth. [1]
September 20
  • US Surveyor B launched toward Moon; crashes September 23. [1]
October 22
  • USSR launches Luna 12 for orbit around Moon. [1]
October 26
  • First Pacific communications satellite launched, Intelsat 2. [1]
November 7
  • Lunar Orbiter 2 launched by US. [1]
November 11
  • Gemini XII launched on 4-day flight. [1]
November 15
  • Gemini XII returns to Earth. [1]
November 17
  • Leonids meteor shower peaks (150,000+ per hour). [1]
December 8
  • US and USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space. [1]
December 15
  • Audouin Dollfus discovers 10th satellite of Saturn, Janus. [1]
December 18
  • Richard L. Walker discovers Saturn's moon Epimetheus. [5]
December 21
  • USSR launches Luna 13; later soft-lands in Oceanus Procellarum. [1]
December 24
  • Luna 13 lands on Moon. [1]

1967

January 27
  • At Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, a fire breaks out during a manned launch-pad test of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket, killing astronauts Virgil I Grissom, Lieutenant-Colonel US Air Force Edward Higgins White II, and Roger B Chaffee. [1] [129] [452.94]
  • Treaty banning military use of nuclear weapons in space is signed. [1]
February 4
  • US launches Lunar Orbiter 3. [1]
February 8
  • French Diadème D-1C satellite is launched into Earth orbit. [1]
February 15
  • French Diadème 1-D satellite launches into Earth orbit. [1]
February 17
  • Kosmos 140 (Soyuz test) launches into Earth orbit. [1]
April 5
  • ATS II launched but fails to reach orbit. [1]
April 17
  • Surveyor 3 launched; soft lands on Moon, April 20. [1]
April 20
  • US Surveyor 3 lands on Moon. [1]
April 23
  • Soviet Soyuz 1 launched. [1]
April 24
  • Vladimir M Komarov, cosmonaut (Voshkod I), is first to die in space, aboard Soyuz 1 at age 40. [1]
April 26
  • San Marco 2 satellite launch (first Equatorial launch). [1]
May 4
  • Lunar Orbiter 4 launched by US; begins orbiting Moon May 7. [1]
June 12
  • USSR launches Venera 4; will become the first space probe to enter another planet's atmosphere (Venus) and successfully return data. [1] [5]
June 14
  • Launch of Mariner V for Venus fly-by. [1]
  • USSR launches Kosmos 166 for observation of Sun from Earth orbit. [1]
July 14
  • Surveyor 4 launched to Moon; explodes just before landing. [1]
July 19
  • US launches Explorer 35 for lunar orbit (800/7400 km). [1]
August 2
  • US's Lunar Orbiter 5 launched; enters lunar orbit August 5. [1]
September 8
  • Surveyor 5 is launched; makes soft landing on Moon September 10. [1]
September 9
  • First successful test flight of a Saturn V booster rocket. [1]
September 11
  • US Surveyor 5 makes first chemical analysis of lunar material. [1]
September 30
  • USSR's Kosmos 186 and Kosmos 188 complete the first automatic docking. [1]
October 18
  • Soviet Venera 4 becomes the first probe to send data back from Venus. [1]
October 19
  • Mariner 5 makes fly-by of Venus. [1]
October 30
  • USSR Kosmos 186 and 188 make first automatic docking and Venmera 13 launch. [1]
November 5
  • ATS-3 launched by US to take first pictures of full Earth disk. [1]
November 6
  • US launches Surveyor 6; makes soft landing on Moon November 9. [1]
November 9
  • NASA launches the unmanned Apollo 4 test spacecraft from Cape Kennedy. [1] [5]
November 17
  • Surveyor 6 becomes first man-made object to lift off the Moon. [1]
December 12
  • US launches Pioneer 8 into solar orbit. [1]

1968

January 6
  • Surveyor 7 (last of series) launched by US for soft-landing on Moon. [1]
January 9
  • US Surveyor 7 space probe soft lands on the Moon. [1]
January 11
  • Explorer 36 (GEOS-B) launched into earth orbit (1080/1570 km). [1]
January 17
  • Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 complete first docking of two manned spacecraft. [1]
January 22
  • Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made. [1] [5]
February 24
  • First pulsar discovered (CP 1919 by Jocelyn Burnell at Cambridge). [1]
March 2
  • USSR launches space probe Zond 4; it fails to leave Earth orbit. [1]
March 4
  • Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 5 launched. [1]
March 5
  • US launches Solar Explorer 2 to study the Sun. [1]
April 4
  • Apollo 6 launched atop Saturn V rocket; unmanned. [1]
May 17
  • European Space Research Organization launches first satellite. [1]
July 18
  • C Torres discovers asteroid #2654 Ristenpart. [1]
July 25
  • H Wroblewski discovers asteroid #1993 Guacolda. [1]
September 15
  • Launch of USSR's Zond 5, the first lunar flyaround with Earth reentry. Probable test flight for a manned fly-around (scooped by Apollo 8). [1]
September 17
  • Zond 5 completes circumnavigation of the Moon. [1]
October 11
  • Apollo 7 (Schirra, Eisele and Cunningham) make 163 orbits of Earth in 260 hours. [1] [452.94]
October 14
  • First live telecast from a manned US spacecraft (Apollo 7). [1] [457]
October 22
  • Apollo 7 returns to Earth. [1]
October 26
  • Soyuz 3 launched. [1]
November 10
  • Launch of Zond 6, second unmanned circumlunar and return flight. [1]
December 7
  • Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 launched into Earth orbit. [1]
December 21
  • Apollo 8 (Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders) is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first manned Moon voyage. [1] [5]
December 23
  • First documented US case of space motion sickness. [1]
December 24
  • The crew of Apollo 8 (Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders) become the first men to orbit the Moon. [1] [5] [457]
December 25
  • Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit. [5]
December 27
  • Apollo 8 returns to Earth. [1]

1969

January 5
  • USSR Venera 5 launched for first successful planet landing (Venus). [1]
January 10
  • USSR's Venera 6 launched for parachute landing on Venus. [1]
January 14
  • Soyuz 4 launched; rendezvous with Soyuz 5 two days later. [1]
January 15
  • The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5, which docks with Soyuz 4 in orbit. It is the first-ever docking of two manned spacecraft, and the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another. [1] [5]
January 18
  • Soyuz 5 returns to Earth. [1]
January 20
  • University of Arizona reports first optical identification of pulsar (in Crab Nebula). [1]
January 22
  • Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit. [1]
January 30
  • US/Canada ISIS 1 launched to study ionosphere. [1]
February 25
  • Mariner 6 launched for fly-by of Mars. [1]
March 3
  • Apollo 9 is launched (151 Earth orbits in 10 days). [1] [452.94]
March 13
  • Apollo 9 returns to Earth. [1]
March 26
  • Soviet weather satellite Meteor 1 launched. [1]
March 27
  • Launch of Mariner 7. [1] [5]
May 10
  • Apollo 10 transmits first color pictures of Earth from space. [1]
May 16
  • Soviet spaceprobe Venera 5 lands on Venus, returns data on atmosphere. [1] [5]
May 18
  • Apollo 10 (Stafford/Cernan/Young) launched toward lunar orbit. [1] [452.94]
May 22
  • Stafford and Cernan pilot Apollo 10 LEM 9.4 miles (15km) above lunar surface. [1]
May 26
  • Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth. [1]
June 13
  • T Smirnova discovers asteroid #2111 Tselina. [1]
July 11
  • David Bowie's single, "Space Oddity" is released to coincide with the first lunar landing. [1] [457]
July 13
  • Russia launches unmanned Luna 15 to Moon. [1]
July 16
  • Apollo 11 takes off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Junior, and Michael Collins aboard. [1] [129]
July 19
  • Apollo 11 enters lunar orbit. [1] [129]
July 20
  • Lunar module Eagle, manned by Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin separates from the command module of Apollo 11, and lands on the Moon 2.5 hours later. Armstrong radios Mission Control in Houston, Texas, "The Eagle has landed." [5] [129]
  • At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. Edwin Aldrin joins him 11:11 p.m., and the two take photographs, plant a U.S. flag, run scientific tests, and leave a plaque that reads: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon - July 1969 A.D. - We came in peace for all mankind." [1] [129]
July 21
  • Russia's Luna 15 impacts moon after 52 lunar orbits. [1]
July 22
  • USSR launches Sputnik 50 and Molniya 1-12 communications satellite. [1]
July 24
  • Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean. [1] [5] [129]
July 27
  • Pioneer 10 launched. [1]
July 29
  • Mariner 6 begins transmitting far-encounter photos of Mars. [1]
July 31
  • Mariner 6 flies past Mars. [1]
August 5
  • Mariner 7 flies past Mars. [1]
October 11
  • Soyuz 6 launched. [1]
October 12
  • Soyuz 7 is launched. [1]
October 13
  • Soyuz 8 is launched. [1]
October 16
  • Soyuz 6 returns to Earth. [1]
October 17
  • Soyuz 7 returns to Earth. [1]
October 18
  • Soyuz 8 returns to Earth. [1]
November 14
  • NASA launches Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the Moon. [1] [5]
November 19
  • Apollo 12's Conrad and Bean become third and fourth humans on the Moon. [1]
November 24
  • Apollo 12 returns to Earth. [1]
December 17
  • US Air Force closes Project Blue Book, concluding no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings. [1]
End of 1965-1969. Next: 1970.

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A list of references to all source material is available.

Last updated: 2023 December 20.
Copyright © 2007-2024 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/space/
Link to Ken P's home page.

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