Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 traveled past Jupiter and Saturn and is now more than 11.66 billion miles (18.67 billion kilometers) from the sun, becoming the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space.
Voyager 1 becomes first human-made object to leave solar system Read more
While it was not the first space telescope, it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned both as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy.
The United States launches the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit Read more
In A Brief History of Time, Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the universe, which is the object of study of astronomy and modern physics.
Stephen Hawking publishes A Brief History of Time Read more
Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft.
USSR launches Mir Space Station Read more
The Very Large Array is the most versatile, widely-used radio telescope in the world.
Construction begins on the Very Large Array in New Mexico Read more
Salyut 1 (DOS-1) was the first space station of any kind, launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program followed this with five more successful launches of seven more stations
The Soviet Union launches humanity’s first space station, Salyut Read more
Mariner 9 was launched successfully on May 30, 1971, and became the first artificial satellite of Mars when it arrived and went into orbit.
U.S. NASA’s Mariner 9 becomes the first articial satellite of Mars Read more
After the astronauts returned safely to Earth, another five NASA crewed lunar missions followed in their footsteps. The last, Apollo 17, landed on December 14 1972.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the moon Read more
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It orbited for three weeks before its batteries died, then silently for two more months before falling back into the atmosphere.
The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I Read more
At that time, the source of stellar energy was a complete mystery; Eddington correctly speculated that the source was fusion of hydrogen into helium, liberating enormous energy according to Einstein’s equation E = mc2.
