A complete chronological record of the American space program from 1961 through 1972, as I followed it. Key missions, key dates, key moments.
| Date | Mission | Key Event |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1961 | Vostok 1 | Gagarin becomes first human in space (USSR) |
| May 5, 1961 | Freedom 7 | Shepard — first American in space (suborbital) |
| May 25, 1961 | — | Kennedy commits to Moon landing before 1970 |
| Jul 21, 1961 | Liberty Bell 7 | Grissom — second American in space; capsule sinks |
| Feb 20, 1962 | Friendship 7 | Glenn — first American to orbit Earth (3 orbits) |
| May 24, 1962 | Aurora 7 | Carpenter — orbit; overshoots landing 250 miles |
| Sep 12, 1962 | — | Kennedy’s “We choose to go” speech at Rice University |
| Oct 3, 1962 | Sigma 7 | Schirra — six-orbit textbook mission |
| May 15, 1963 | Faith 7 | Cooper — 22 orbits; final Mercury mission |
| Jun 16, 1963 | Vostok 6 | Tereshkova — first woman in space (USSR) |
| Nov 22, 1963 | — | President Kennedy assassinated |
| Oct 12, 1964 | Voskhod 1 | Three-person Soviet crew (no spacesuits) |
| Mar 18, 1965 | Voskhod 2 | Leonov — first spacewalk (USSR); nearly fatal suit inflation |
| Mar 23, 1965 | Gemini 3 | Grissom & Young — first crewed Gemini (“Molly Brown”) |
| Jun 3, 1965 | Gemini 4 | White — first American spacewalk (23 min) |
| Aug 21, 1965 | Gemini 5 | Cooper & Conrad — 8-day endurance flight |
| Dec 15, 1965 | Gemini 6A/7 | First space rendezvous — two spacecraft within 1 foot |
| Mar 16, 1966 | Gemini 8 | Armstrong & Scott — first docking; emergency abort |
| Nov 11, 1966 | Gemini 12 | Aldrin — solves EVA problems; last Gemini mission |
| Jan 27, 1967 | Apollo 1 | Grissom, White, Chaffee die in pad fire during ground test |
| Apr 24, 1967 | Soyuz 1 | Komarov dies on reentry (USSR) |
| Nov 9, 1967 | Apollo 4 | First unmanned Saturn V test — all five engines fire |
| Jan 22, 1968 | Apollo 5 | Unmanned LM test in Earth orbit — descent/ascent engines tested |
| Apr 4, 1968 | Apollo 6 | Second Saturn V test — two J-2 engines fail; spacecraft survives |
| Oct 11, 1968 | Apollo 7 | Schirra, Eisele, Cunningham — first crewed Apollo; 11 days |
| Dec 21, 1968 | Apollo 8 | Borman, Lovell, Anders — first humans to orbit the Moon |
| Dec 24, 1968 | — | Earthrise photograph; Genesis reading from lunar orbit |
| Mar 3, 1969 | Apollo 9 | McDivitt, Scott, Schweickart — LM tested in Earth orbit |
| May 18, 1969 | Apollo 10 | Stafford, Young, Cernan — LM descends to 8.4 nm above surface |
| Jul 16, 1969 | Apollo 11 | Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins — launch to the Moon |
| Jul 20, 1969 | Apollo 11 | Eagle lands — Sea of Tranquility. “The Eagle has landed.” |
| Jul 20, 1969 | Apollo 11 | Armstrong’s first step. “One small step for man…” |
| Nov 14, 1969 | Apollo 12 | Conrad, Gordon, Bean — precision landing; lightning at launch |
| Apr 11, 1970 | Apollo 13 | Lovell, Swigert, Haise — oxygen tank explosion; survival mission |
| Apr 17, 1970 | — | Apollo 13 safe splashdown after 6-day survival ordeal |
| Jan 31, 1971 | Apollo 14 | Shepard, Roosa, Mitchell — Fra Mauro; Shepard plays golf |
| Jul 26, 1971 | Apollo 15 | Scott, Worden, Irwin — first Lunar Rover; Genesis Rock |
| Apr 16, 1972 | Apollo 16 | Young, Mattingly, Duke — Descartes Highlands |
| Dec 7, 1972 | Apollo 17 | Cernan, Evans, Schmitt — only night launch; Taurus-Littrow |
| Dec 11, 1972 | — | Cernan and Schmitt land — final lunar landing |
| Dec 14, 1972 | — | Cernan’s last step on the Moon — final Apollo moonwalk |
| Dec 19, 1972 | — | Apollo 17 splashdown — end of the Apollo program |