Download Combined Timelines of the Cold War and Space Exploration

Combined Timelines of the Cold War and Space Exploration between 1945 and 1989 1945: August 8 ‐‐ Russia enters war against Japan 1945: August 14 – Japan surrenders – end of World War II 1948: February ‐‐ Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia 1949: September ‐‐ Mao Zedong, a Communist, takes control of China 1949: September ‐‐ Soviets explode first atomic bomb 1950: February ‐‐ Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt 1950: June – Korean War begins 1953: July ‐‐ Korean War ends 1954 ‐‐ CIA helps overthrow unfriendly regimes in Iran and Guatemala 1954: July ‐‐ Vietnam split at 17th parallel 1955: May ‐‐ Warsaw Pact formed 1956: October ‐ November ‐‐ Rebellion put down in Communist Hungary. Egypt takes control of Suez Canal 1957: October 4 ‐ The Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space. 1957: November 3 ‐ The Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 was launched with a dog named Laika on board. Laika did not survive the voyage. 1958: November ‐‐ Khrushchev demands withdrawal of troops from Berlin 1959: January ‐‐ Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro 1959: September ‐‐ Khrushchev visits United States; denied access to Disneyland 1960: May ‐‐ Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory 1960: August 19 ‐ The Soviet craft Sputnik 5 was launched, carrying the dogs Strelka and Belka. They became the first living beings to survive a trip into space. 1960: November ‐‐ John F. Kennedy elected President 1961: April – Bay of Pigs invasion 1961 : April 12 ‐ Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. 1961: May 5 ‐ Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. 1961: May 25 ‐ President Kennedy challenged the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. 1961: July ‐‐ Kennedy requests 25% spending increase for military 1961: August 13 – Berlin border closed 1961: August 17 ‐‐ Construction of Berlin Wall begins 1962: ‐‐ U.S. involvement in Vietnam increases 1962 : February 20 ‐ Astronaut John Glenn became the first American in orbit. 1962: June 16 ‐ Valentina Nikolayeva Tereshkova of the USSR became the first woman in space. 1962: October ‐‐ Cuban Missile Crisis 1963: July ‐‐ Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified 1963: November ‐‐ President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas 1964: August ‐‐ Gulf of Tonkin incident 1965: March 18 ‐ While tethered to his spacecraft, cosmonaut Alexi Leonov became the first man to walk in space. 1965: April ‐‐ U.S. Marines sent to Dominican Republic to fight Communism 1965: June 3 ‐ Astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. 1965: July 14 ‐ The spacecraft Mariner 4 transmitted the first pictures of Mars. 1965: July ‐‐ Announcement of dispatching of 150,000 U.S. troops to Vietnam 1966: February 3 ‐ The Russian spacecraft Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land on the moon. 1966: June 2 ‐ Surveyor 1 became the first American spacecraft to land on the moon. 1967: January 27 ‐ Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in an accidental fire in a command module on the launch pad. 1967: April 24 ‐ Cosmonaut Vladimir M. Komarov was killed in a crash when the parachute on his Soyuz 1 spacecraft failed to deploy. 1967: October 18 ‐ A descent capsule from the Soviet probe Venera 4 collected data about the atmosphere of Venus. 1968: January ‐‐ North Korea captured U.S.S. Pueblo 1968: August ‐‐ Soviet troops crush Czechoslovakian revolt 1968 :September 15 ‐ The Soviet spacecraft Zond 5 was launched and later became the first spacecraft to orbit the moon and return to Earth. 1968: December 21 ‐ Apollo 8 was launched, and later her crewmembers became the first men to orbit the moon. 1969: July 20 ‐‐ Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men on the moon. 1970: April ‐‐ President Nixon extends Vietnam War to Cambodia 1970: April 11 ‐ Apollo 13 was launched. 1970: September 12 ‐ The Soviet craft Luna 16 was launched and became the first automatic spacecraft to return soil samples of the moon. 1970: November 17 ‐ The Soviet automatic robot Lunokhod 1 landed on the moon with Luna 17. 1970: December 15 ‐ The Soviet Venera 7 became the first probe to land on Venus. 1971: April 19 ‐ The Soviet space station Salyut 1 was launched. 1971: July 30 ‐ The moon rover was driven on the moon for the first time. 1971: November 13 ‐ The Mariner 9 probe became the first craft to orbit another world ‐ Mars. 1972: July ‐‐ SALT I signed 1972: December 11 ‐ Eugene Cernan and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt became the last men to walk on the moon. 1973: January ‐‐ Cease fire in Vietnam between North Vietnam and United States 1973: May 14 ‐ The U.S. launched its first space station, Skylab 1973: September ‐‐ United States helps overthrow Chile government 1973: October ‐‐ Egypt and Syria attack Israel; Egypt requests Soviet aid 1974: August ‐‐ President Nixon resigns 1975: April 17 – North Vietnam defeats South Vietnam 1975: July 17 ‐ The American Apollo 18 and Soviet Soyuz 19 dock in the Apollo‐Soyuz Test Project 1976: September ‐ The American probe Viking 2 discovered water frost on the Martian surface 1977: August and September ‐ Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched. (Voyager 2 was launched before Voyager 1, but Voyager 1 was on a faster trajectory.) 1979: March and August ‐ Voyagers 1 and 2 began transmitting images of Jupiter and her moons. 1979: July ‐‐ SALT II signed 1979: September ‐ The U.S. probe Pioneer 11 reached Saturn and began transmitting images. 1979: November ‐‐ Shah of Iran overthrown; Iranian Hostage Crisis 1980: November 13 ‐ Voyager 1 reached Saturn and began transmitting images 1981: April 12 ‐ Columbia became the first Space Shuttle to be launched. August 26 ‐ Voyager 2 reached Saturn and began transmitting images. 1983: ‐‐ President Reagan proposes Strategic Defense Initiative 1983: April 4 ‐ The second Space Shuttle, Challenger, was launched. 1983: June 19 ‐ Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on Challenger’s second mission. August 30 ‐ Guion Bluford became the first African‐American in space. 1983: October ‐‐ U.S. troops overthrow regime in Grenada 1984: February 3 ‐ Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first man to take an untethered space walk. 1984: August 30 ‐ The third Space Shuttle, Discovery, was launched. 1984: October ‐ Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space. 1985: ‐‐ Iran‐Contra Affair (arms sold to Iran, profits used to support contras in Nicaragua) 1985: ‐‐ Mikhail Gorbachev ascends to power in Soviet Union 1985 : October 3 ‐ Atlantis, the fourth Space Shuttle, was launched. 1986: ‐‐ Gorbachev ends economic aid to Soviet satellite countries 1986: January 24 ‐ Voyager 2 began transmitting images from Uranus. 1986: January 28 ‐ The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded seconds after liftoff. 1986: February 20 ‐ The core section of the Space Station Mir was launched. 1986: October ‐‐ Reagan and Gorbachev resolve to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe 1986: November ‐‐ Iran‐Contra Affair revealed to public 1987: October ‐‐ Reagan and Gorbachev agree to remove all medium and short‐range nuclear missiles by signing treaty 1989: January ‐‐ Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan 1989: June ‐‐ China puts down protests for democracy; Poland becomes independent 1989: August ‐ Voyager 2 began transmitting images from Neptune 1989: September ‐‐ Hungary becomes independent 1989: November ‐‐ Berlin Wall falls 1989: December ‐‐ Communist governments fall in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Rumania. 1990: August 10 ‐ The Magellan spacecraft began mapping the surface of Venus using radar equipment. 1990: August 24 ‐ The Space Shuttle Discovery deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.