04 Oct 1957: Sputnik satellite blasts into space
03 Nov 1957: Russians launch dog into space
13 Dec 1958: Monkey lost after space flight
28 May 1959: Monkeys survive space mission
12 Sep 1959: Soviets launch rocket at the Moon
26 Oct 1959: World glimpses far side of the Moon
14 Mar 1960: Radio telescope makes space history
31 Jan 1961: Chimp returns safely after space flight
12 Apr 1961: Soviets win space race
05 May 1961: Shepard becomes first US astronaut
25 May 1961: Kennedy pledges man on Moon
06 Aug 1961: Russian cosmonaut spends day in space
20 Feb 1962: US spaceman orbits Earth
26 Apr 1962: First US rocket lands on Moon
14 Dec 1962: ‘Music of spheres’ hails Venus fly-by
16 Jun 1963: Soviets launch first woman into space
24 Mar 1965: Millions watch space probe crash into Moon
29 Aug 1965: Gemini V returns to Earth
03 Feb 1966: Soviets land probe on Moon
02 Jun 1966: First US space probe lands on Moon
27 Jan 1967: Three astronauts die in Apollo 1 tragedy
24 Apr 1967: Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash
05 May 1967: First all-British satellite ‘Ariel 3′ launched
18 Oct 1967: Soviets glimpse beneath clouds of Venus
19 Oct 1967: US probe flies by hot and windy Venus
24 Dec 1968: First astronauts orbit Moon
22 May 1969: Apollo 10 gets bird’s eye view of Moon
20 Jul 1969: First Manned Moon Landing
19 Nov 1969: Second Apollo mission lands on Moon
14 Apr 1970: Critical explosion cripples Apollo 13
20 Sep 1970: Soviet probe collects moon rock
06 Feb 1971: Man plays golf on the Moon
30 Jun 1971: Space mission ends in tragedy
01 Aug 1971: Apollo 15 finds rock from birth of Moon
13 Nov 1971: American probe orbits Mars
20 Apr 1972: Apollo 16 safely on Moon after engine crisis
14 Dec 1972: Last Moon mission returns
08 Feb 1974: Americans end outer space marathon
20 Jul 1976: Pictures of Mars from Viking ship
11 Jul 1979: Skylab tumbles back to Earth
24 Dec 1979: Europe launches first rocket
12 Nov 1980: Saturn’s rings caught on film
24 Jun 1983: US astronaut Sally Ride returns
20 Feb 1986: Soviets launch space station Mir
29 Sep 1988: Shuttle blasts US back into space
25 Aug 1989: Voyager spacecraft reaches Neptune
24 Apr 1990: Hubble telescope takes off for space
10 Aug 1990: Magellan starts mapping Venus
18 May 1991: Sharman becomes first Briton in space
09 Feb 1995: Space pioneers take first small steps
29 Jun 1995: US shuttle docks with Russian space station
06 Apr 1997: Fault cuts short space shuttle mission
06 Jul 1997: Mars buggy starts exploring Red Planet
07 Nov 1998: Oldest astronaut back on Earth
28 Apr 2001: First space tourist blasts off
01 Feb 2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven
15 Oct 2003: China sends first man into space
25 Dec 2003: Mars space probe disappears
25 Jan 2004: NASA rover looks for water on Mars
