First man in space
On 12 April 1961, The USSR sent Yuri Gagarin into space. This day is called International Day of Human Space Flight.
World's first artificial satellite
The Sputnik 1 satellite was launched by the USSR on 4 October 1957.
First creatures to return alive from space
Two monkeys, Able and Baker, became the first living creatures to survive a space flight.
First woman in space
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be launched into space by the Soviet Union on 16 June 1963.
First-ever spacewalk
On 18 March 1965, Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov carried out the first-ever spacewalk from the two-man Voskhod spacecraft.
First man on the Moon
American Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon on 20 July 1969.
First space station is launched
Russia launched Salyut, the first space station on 19 April 1971.
'Free-flying' in space
Bruce McCandless became the first person to do a spacewalk without being attached to the spacecraft
First space tourist
Dennis Tito, a billionaire businessman from California, became the first paying passenger to go to outer space.