Soviet Space Program and the Space Race (1957–1975)

1. Sputnik 1 reaches orbit

   Oct 4, 1957Labels: Sputnik 1, USSR

   • NASA History
   • Britannica

2. Sputnik 2 launches with Laika

   Nov 3, 1957Labels: Sputnik 2, Laika

   • NASA History
   • Britannica

3. Luna 2 impacts the Moon

   Sep 13, 1959Labels: Luna 2, Moon

   • NASA History
   • Britannica

4. Luna 3 photographs Moon’s far side

   Oct 7, 1959Labels: Luna 3, Moon

   • Britannica
   • Planetary Soc

5. Gagarin completes Vostok 1 orbital flight

   Apr 12, 1961Labels: Yuri Gagarin, Vostok 1

   • Britannica
   • NASA

6. Tereshkova flies Vostok 6

   Jun 16, 1963Labels: Valentina Tereshkova, Vostok 6

   • Britannica
   • NASA

7. Voskhod 1 conducts first multi-crew flight

   Oct 12, 1964Labels: Voskhod 1, multi-crew flight

   • Britannica
   • Science Museum

8. Leonov performs first spacewalk (EVA)

   Mar 18, 1965Labels: Alexei Leonov, Voskhod 2

   • FAI
   • Britannica

9. Luna 9 achieves first soft Moon landing

   Feb 3, 1966Labels: Luna 9, Moon

   • Britannica
   • History com

10. Soyuz 1 crash kills Vladimir Komarov

    Apr 24, 1967Labels: Soyuz 1, Vladimir Komarov

    • Britannica
    • NASA

11. Zond 5 completes circumlunar mission

    Sep 18, 1968Labels: Zond 5, circumlunar mission

    • NASA NSSDC
    • Britannica

12. First N1 moon rocket launch attempt fails

    Feb 21, 1969Labels: N1 rocket, Soviet moon

    • Britannica
    • NASA History

13. Luna 16 returns first robotic lunar samples

    Sep 24, 1970Labels: Luna 16, lunar samples

    • NASA Science
    • Britannica

14. Lunokhod 1 begins first lunar rover operations

    Nov 17, 1970Labels: Lunokhod 1, Luna 17

    • Britannica
    • NASA NSSDC

15. Salyut 1 launches as first space station

    Apr 19, 1971Labels: Salyut 1, space station

    • Britannica
    • NASA

16. Soyuz 11 crew dies after Salyut 1 mission

    Jun 30, 1971Labels: Soyuz 11, Dobrovolsky

    • Britannica
    • Britannica

17. Mars 3 makes first soft landing on Mars

    Dec 2, 1971Labels: Mars 3, Mars lander

    • NASA NSSDC
    • Britannica

18. Apollo–Soyuz docking demonstrates détente cooperation

    Jul 17, 1975Labels: Apollo Soyuz, d tente

    • NASA
    • Britannica