The USSR was the first to launch a man made satellite in October of 1957.

On May 5, 1961, the US launched its first suborbital Mercury astronaut, Alan Shepard.

Sputnik

First American in space

Apollo I Disaster

Apollo 11

Timeline

On January 27, the entire crew of Apollo 1 was killed during a ground test. These were the first US space fatalities.

The US succeeded on July 20, 1969, with the landing of Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the Moon.