| Russia | U.S. | Europe | Rest of the world |
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Oct. 1957 - Russia launches the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1, on an R-7 missile
Apr. 1961 - Vostok 1
Yuri Gagarin is the first man in orbit
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Jan. 1958 - First successful U.S. launch to orbit: Explorer 1 is lofted by a Juno rocket
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Apr. 1960 - The UK cancels the Blue Streak missile programme and proposes to turn it into the first stage of a European launcher
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Jun. 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova is launched aboard Vostok 6 and becomes the first woman to fly in space
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Feb. 1962 - John Glenn becomes the first U.S. astronaut in space when he orbits the Earth on Friendship 7
| Mar. 1962 - Preliminary work begins on ELDO's Europa rocket based on Blue Streak
Jun. 1964 - First development flight of Europa
Nov. 1965 - France launches its first satellite Asterix from the Diamant launcher
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1969-1972 - Four failed attempts to launch the N-1 rocket
| Nov. 1967 - First launch of Saturn 5
July 1969 - Apollo 11, first manned Moon landing
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1968-1971 - Four failed orbital launch attempts with ELDO's Europa rocket
Oct. 1971 - Prospero on Black Arrow: the first successful UK launch to orbit
| Feb. 1970 - Japan launches its first satellite
Apr. 1970 - China launches its first satellite |
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| Jul. 1975 - Apollo-Soyuz: first joint U.S./Soviet manned space mission
| Aug. 1973 - Europe decides to develop Ariane and Spacelab
1974 - ELDO is merged into ESA
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Jan. 1978 - First flight of the Soyuz-based Progress freighter
1978-1981 - Astronauts from Eastern Europe are flown on Soyuz missions
| Apr. 1981 - First flight of the Space Shuttle
| Dec. 1979 - First Ariane launch
Mar. 1980 - Arianespace is founded
| Jul. 1980 - India's first successful launch to orbit |
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Jun. 1982 - Jean-Loup Chrétien becomes the first western European in space when he takes part in the Soyuz T6 mission
Nov. 1983 - Ulf Merbold is ESA's first astronaut in space on Spacelab 1 |
Apr. 1984 - India's first astronaut flies on Soyuz T11 |
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| May 1987 - First launch of Energiya
Nov. 1988 - Unique flight of the Buran space shuttle
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1987-1991 - ESA studies the Hermes spaceplane
Jun. 1988 - First launch of Ariane 4 |
Sep. 1988 - Israel launches its first satellite
Dec. 1990 - Japan's first astronaut flies on Soyuz TM11 |
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Jun. 1996 - First launch of Ariane 5
Aug. 1996 - Starsem is founded
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Oct. 1998 - Flight of the ARD
Feb. 1999 - Starsem begins launching Soyuz
Dec. 2000 - ESA initiates development of Vega
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Jan. 2004 - NASA decides to retire the Space Shuttle by 2010
Aug. 2006 - NASA starts development of the Orion capsule
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Feb. 2004 - ESA approves building a Soyuz launch pad in French Guiana
| Oct. 2003 - Launch of Shenzhou 5 with Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut |
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30 years of ESA in pictures
50 years of space in pictures
ESA Publications
Education with ESA
