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History of the 1960's
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All Dates are launch dates!
1960
April 1
TIROS, Television and Infrared Observation Satellite, is launched by US; first weather satellite.
1961
April 12
Soviets launch Vostok 1; it carries Yuri A Gagarin the first human in space. He flew for 1 hour and 48 minutes.
May 5
US launches Alan Shephard on a Mercury-Redstone rocket; he flew a suborbital flight that lasted for 15 minutes.
July 21
Mercury-Redstone 4 launches US astronaut Virgil (Gus) Grissom and a 16 minute suborbital flight.
Aug. 6
Vostok 2, manned by Gherman Titov, is first spaceflight to exceed 24 hours.
1962
Feb. 20
John Glenn becomes first Astronaut to orbit the Earth on Mercury-Atlas 6. 4 hours and 55 minutes.
May 24
Scott Carpenter flew on Mercury-Atlas 7 on the second U.S. manned flight. It lasted 4 hours, 56 minutes.
July 10
Telstar 1 became the first commercially finaced communication satellite. It was launched by the U.S.
August 11
Vostok 3 and 4 become the first two manned space flights to be in flight at the same time. Vostok 3 flight time=94 hrs, 22 min. Vostok 4 flight time=70 hrs. 57 min.
December 14
U.S. prober Mariner 2 becomes the first to pass within 22,000 miles of Venus. Provides measurements on the magnertic field, atmospherice temperature, and of the surface.
1963
May 15
Gordon Cooper flies first long U.S. flight in Mercury-Atlas 9. It made 22 orbits in 34 hrs, 20 min.
June 14,16
Vostok 5 and 6 become second dual space flight. Vostok 6 was manned by the first woman in space Valentina V. Tereshkova.
1964
July 28
Ranger 7 transmits over 4,000 TV photos of the moons surface to Earth.
October 12
Russia launches Voskhod 1, the first flight to carry three men. It was manned by Konstantin Feoktistov, Vladimir Komorov, and Voris Yegorow. It made 16 orbits.
1965
March 18
Russia launched Voskhod 2. Aleksei A. Leonov made the first EVA or spacewalk which lasted ten minutes.
March 23
Gemini 3 becomes the first U.S. two manned flight and the first flight to change the path of its orbit. It is manned by Virgil (Gus) Grissom and John Young.
November 16
Russia's Venera 3 becomes first spacecraft to impact another planet.
June 3
Edward White on Gemini 4 makes first U.S. spacewalk lasting 21 minutes. Also on the flight was James McDivitt
August 21
U.S. spacecraft Gemini 5 is first to use fuel cells for electric power.
December 4,15
Gemini 6 (launched the 15th) makes first ever space rendezvous with Gemini 7 (launched the 4th) passing within a foot of each other. Gemini 7 is longest Gemini flight.
1966
March 16
The U.S. launches Gemini 8 which completes the first ever docking in space. It carries astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott. (They dock to an unmanned satellite)
May 30
Surveyor 1 is the first U.S. soft landing on the moon.
1967
February 21
During a pre-launch flight test a fire took the lives of astronauts Edward White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee bringing U.S. manned flight to a grinding halt. It was determined that a spark from a wire bundle started the fire. It would have stopped their if it were not for the 100% pure Oxygen Nasa used in its spacecraft which spread the fire. The astronauts died from carbon monoxide asphyxia with burn being contributing causes. The test had been a distaster to begin with with many problems with communication and other systems. The first of two fatal American flights with the second being the Challenger Space Shuttle in the 80's. Although no one knows for sure due to a veil of secrecy around failures it is thought that as many as a hundred men died in Russia during and as a result of the space race. Many being scientists that died in a large explosion of a booster.
April 24
Vladimir Komarov is killed in recovery phase of Souz 1.
1968
October 11
FIrst U.S. three-man mission carrying astronauts Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham on Apollo 7
December 21
U.S. Apollo 8 manned by Frank Bordman, Jim Lovell and William Anders made the first manned flight around the moon. Made 10 orbits of the moon. Read the story of Creation in Genesis live to millions of listeners on Christmas Eve. First manned spaceflight to leave Earth's sphere of influence and obtained the highest ever speed in manned flight.
1969
January 14
Soyuz 4 and 5 complete Russia's first manned spacecraft docking. Two cosmonauts transfered between the spacecraft.
February 24
U.S. probe Mariner 6 passes by Mars at 2,200 miles on July 31.
March 3
U.S. conducts the first manned flight of the lunar module in Earth orbit on Apollo 9.
May 18
Apollo 10 conducted tests of the U.S. lunar module in lunar orbit.
July 16
U.S. Apollo 11 is launched carrying Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin. On July 20 Aldrin and Armstrong land their lunar module designated Eagle on the lunar surface in the Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong becomes first man to walk on another surface other than Earth's saying, "Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," as he steped of the lunar module. He is followed shortly afterward by Aldrin. They bring back 55 pounds of lunar rocks to the Earth. They leave a plaque on the moon which states, ""Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all man kind." It was signed by the three astronauts and President Nixon.
October 11,12,13
Soviets launch a group of three manned spaceflight that carry out complementary experiments.
November 14
U.S. Apollo 12 is launched carrying Charles (Pete) Conrad, Alan Bean, and Richard Gordon. On November 19 Conrad and Bean land on the moon and become the third and fourth men to walk on the moon. They retrieve parts of the Surveyor 3 probe.
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