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50 Highs and Lows Since Sputnik

Time counts down the top moments in space exploration

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 4, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

(Newser) – Since Sputnik’s launch, space exploration has gone through some dizzying highs and tragic lows. Time recounts the top moments, replete with triumphs like John Glenn’s first earth orbit, tragic lows like the death of the Apollo 1 crew, and the many missteps in between – like the Soviets launching a dog in the Sputnik 2, only to have it die from exposure.

The space race was rife with forgotten moments of discovery. The unmanned Soviet Lunik may have crashed into the lunar Sea of Serenity, but on the way down it told scientists that the moon had a magnetic field. The Soviets own the early list: putting the first man in space, conducting the first spacewalk, shooting rockets past Venus. But no high quite matches the Apollo 11’s giant leap for mankind.

This first official picture of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I was issued in Moscow Oct. 9, 1957, showing the four-antennaed satellite resting on a three-legged pedestal. Working in obsessive secrecy, the Soviets propelled the Sputnik satellite into space on Oct. 4, 1957, making it the first man-made object to reach...
This first official picture of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I was issued in Moscow Oct. 9, 1957, showing the four-antennaed satellite resting on a three-legged pedestal. Working in obsessive secrecy,...   (Associated Press)
ADVANCE FOR OCT. 4; graphic shows profile of Sputnik 1 satellite; includes number of successful space launches since 1957 by country and timeline of space exploration firsts; two sizes; 2c x 5 3/4 inches; 96.3 mm x 146.1 mm; 2c x 2 3/4 inches; 96.3 mm x...
ADVANCE FOR OCT. 4; graphic shows profile of Sputnik 1 satellite; includes number of successful space launches since 1957 by country and timeline of space exploration firsts; two sizes; 2c x 5 3/4 inches;...   (Associated Press)
A satellite, which Jay Walker of Ridgefield, Conn., claims is one of the original Soviet Sputnik satellites made in 1957, is seen at his home  Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik is coming up on Oct. 4.  (AP Photo/Bob Child)
A satellite, which Jay Walker of Ridgefield, Conn., claims is one of the original Soviet Sputnik satellites made in 1957, is seen at his home Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The 50th anniversary of the launch...   (Associated Press)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Nick Coleman(FILES) Picture from the...
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Nick Coleman(FILES) Picture from the...   (Getty Images)
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