Human Spaceflight History

Yuri Gagarin was the first person to travel into space and orbit the Earth, aboard Vostok 1.

Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first human in space and the first to orbit the planet.

Alan Shepard flies a 15-minute suborbital hop aboard Freedom 7, becoming the first American in space three weeks after Gagarin.

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to fly in space, aboard Vostok 6.

Valentina Tereshkova spends nearly three days in orbit aboard Vostok 6, the first woman to fly in space.

Alexei Leonov made the first extravehicular activity, floating outside his Voskhod 2 capsule.

Alexei Leonov leaves his Voskhod 2 capsule for about twelve minutes, the first human to walk in space.

The crew of Apollo 8 become the first humans to leave Earth orbit and circle the Moon, returning the famous Earthrise photograph.

Salyut 1 was the first space station, the beginning of humans living and working in orbit.

The Soviet Union launches Salyut 1, the world's first space station, beginning the long human effort to live and work in orbit.

The United States launches Skylab, its first space station, where crews study the Sun and the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.

Aboard Challenger, Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

The Zarya module launches, the first piece of the International Space Station — the largest structure ever assembled in space, built by fifteen nations.