1. People in Space

2. The first satellite in space, launched by the Russians in 1957, was called
Sputnik
This event launched a competition
between nations called the
Space Race

3. NASA In 1958, President Eisenhower created the
American space agency, known as
NASA

4. Cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin Russian astronauts are called
The first man in space (1961) was a Russian cosmonaut named
Yuri Gagarin

5. Mercury program Alan Shepard John Glenn
The first US manned space flight program was called
Mercury program
The first American in space (1961) was
Alan Shepard
The first American to orbit the
earth (1962) was
John Glenn
He later served as a U.S. Senator
from Ohio. He died in 2016.

6. Gemini program President Kennedy (1962) pledged to
go to the moon and return safely during the 1960s.
The second American space program was called
Gemini program
Each capsule held two astronauts

7. The third and final part of the moon program was the
Apollo program
Each capsule held three astronauts.
At first, astronauts orbited the moon and returned to earth.
The first mission to land on the moon was
Apollo 11
in July, 1969

8. Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin The first man to walk on the moon was
Followed moments later by
Buzz Aldrin

9. Apollo 13 The U.S. successfully landed 6 missions on
the moon’s surface between 1969 and 1972.
The mission that failed was
Apollo 13

10. Space Shuttle Challenger, in 1986 Columbia, in 2003
Following the last moon landing, America developed
a reusable space vehicle called the
Space Shuttle
135 missions,
Two space shuttles were lost
Challenger, in 1986
and
Columbia, in 2003

11. International Space Station
The U.S. is now a partner with Russia in
owning and operating the
International Space Station