04 Oct	1957: Sputnik satellite blasts into space
03 Nov	1957: Russians launch dog into space
13 Dec	1958: Monkey lost after space flight
28 May	1959: Monkeys survive space mission
12 Sep	1959: Soviets launch rocket at the Moon
26 Oct	1959: World glimpses far side of the Moon
14 Mar	1960: Radio telescope makes space history
31 Jan	1961: Chimp returns safely after space flight
12 Apr	1961: Soviets win space race
05 May	1961: Shepard becomes first US astronaut
25 May	1961: Kennedy pledges man on Moon
06 Aug	1961: Russian cosmonaut spends day in space
20 Feb	1962: US spaceman orbits Earth
26 Apr	1962: First US rocket lands on Moon
14 Dec	1962: 'Music of spheres' hails Venus fly-by
16 Jun	1963: Soviets launch first woman into space
24 Mar	1965: Millions watch space probe crash into Moon
29 Aug	1965: Gemini V returns to Earth
03 Feb	1966: Soviets land probe on Moon
02 Jun	1966: First US space probe lands on Moon
27 Jan	1967: Three astronauts die in Apollo 1 tragedy
24 Apr	1967: Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash
05 May	1967: First all-British satellite 'Ariel 3' launched
18 Oct	1967: Soviets glimpse beneath clouds of Venus
19 Oct	1967: US probe flies by hot and windy Venus
24 Dec	1968: First astronauts orbit Moon
22 May	1969: Apollo 10 gets bird's eye view of Moon
16 Jul	1969: Apollo 11 takes off for the Moon
19 Nov	1969: Second Apollo mission lands on Moon
14 Apr	1970: Critical explosion cripples Apollo 13
20 Sep	1970: Soviet probe collects moon rock
06 Feb	1971: Man plays golf on the Moon
30 Jun	1971: Space mission ends in tragedy
01 Aug	1971: Apollo 15 finds rock from birth of Moon
13 Nov	1971: American probe orbits Mars
20 Apr	1972: Apollo 16 safely on Moon after engine crisis
14 Dec	1972: Last Moon mission returns
08 Feb	1974: Americans end outer space marathon
20 Jul	1976: Pictures of Mars from Viking ship
11 Jul	1979: Skylab tumbles back to Earth
24 Dec	1979: Europe launches first rocket
12 Nov	1980: Saturn's rings caught on film
24 Jun	1983: US astronaut Sally Ride returns
20 Feb	1986: Soviets launch space station Mir
29 Sep	1988: Shuttle blasts US back into space
25 Aug	1989: Voyager spacecraft reaches Neptune
24 Apr	1990: Hubble telescope takes off for space
10 Aug	1990: Magellan starts mapping Venus
18 May	1991: Sharman becomes first Briton in space
09 Feb	1995: Space pioneers take first small steps
29 Jun	1995: US shuttle docks with Russian space station
06 Apr	1997: Fault cuts short space shuttle mission
06 Jul	1997: Mars buggy starts exploring Red Planet
07 Nov	1998: Oldest astronaut back on Earth
28 Apr	2001: First space tourist blasts off
01 Feb	2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven
15 Oct	2003: China sends first man into space
25 Dec	2003: Mars space probe disappears
25 Jan	2004: Nasa rover looks for water on Mars