Spaceflight as a practical endeavor began during World War II with the development of operational liquid-fueled rockets. Beginning life as a weapon, the V-2 was pressed into peaceful service after the war at the United States' White Sands Missile Range as well as the Soviet Union's Kapustin Yar. This led to a flourishing of missile designs setting the stage for the exploration of space. The small American WAC Corporal rocket was evolved into the Aerobee, a much more powerful sounding rocket. Exploration of space began in earnest in 1947 with the flight of the first Aerobee, 46 of which had flown by the end of 1950. These and other rockets, both Soviet and American, returned the first direct data on air density, temperature, charged particles and magnetic fields in the Earth's upper atmosphere.
By 1948, the United States Navy had evolved the V-2 design into the Viking capable of more than 100 miles (160 km) in altitude. The first Viking to accomplish this feat, number four, did so 10 May 1950. The Soviet Union developed a virtual copy of the V-2 called the R-1, which first flew in 1948. Its longer-ranged successor, the R-2, entered military service in 1950. This event marked the entry of both superpowers into the post-V-2 rocketry era.
and 28 Related for: Spaceflight before 1951 information
Spaceflight as a practical endeavor began during World War II with the development of operational liquid-fueled rockets. Beginning life as a weapon, the...
than the World War Two era German V-2 that had inaugurated the age of spaceflight. The USSR advanced far beyond their R-1 (a V-2 copy) with the deployment...
This is the timeline of known spaceflights, both crewed and uncrewed, sorted chronologically by launch date. Owing to its large size, the timeline is split...
orbital and suborbital spaceflight launches and events. For an overview of spaceflight in the near future, see 2020s in spaceflight. China plans to return...
Spaceflight in 2025 promises to follow the 2020s trend of record breaking orbital launches and increased developments in lunar, Mars and low-earth orbit...
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s. The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue...
year 2023 saw rapid growth and significant technical achievements in spaceflight. For the third year in a row, new world records were set for both orbital...
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2028. NASA plans to launch Dragonfly, a robotic rotorcraft probe which will...
mission to the Moon of the 20th century, Apollo 17. This is a list of spaceflights launched in 1972. February 21 – Luna 20, 55g from Apollonius Crater (sample...
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2020. The GECAM A and B satellites were launched on 9 December. They were built for...
This article outlines notable events occurring in 1997 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs. Launched aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur on October...
RTV-A-1a Aerobee RTV-A-1c Deacon rockoon R-1 R-2 Timeline of spaceflight Paul Voosen (24 July 2018). "Outer space may have just gotten a bit closer"...
orbit on 31 January 1958. Timeline of spaceflight Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com". Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now". Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog...
This article outlines notable events occurring in 1998 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs. Zarya was launched on 20 November 1998 on a...
the far side of the Moon. Timeline of spaceflight Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com". Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now". Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog...
following is an outline of 1983 in spaceflight. Bergin, Chris. "NASASpaceFlight.com". Clark, Stephen. "Spaceflight Now". Kelso, T.S. "Satellite Catalog...
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2027. China plans to launch the eXTP X-ray observatory. A DARPA program aims...
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2026. In 2026, NASA is expected to launch the Artemis III mission, which will...