Major Space Missions Timeline

1955-1975

Sputnik 1

October 4, 1957

It was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries became depleted.

Vostok 1

April 12, 1961

It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard, making him the first human to reach orbital velocity around the Earth and to complete a full orbit around the Earth.

Apollo 11

July 20, 1969

It was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface on July 21 at 02:56 UTC.

Aryabhata

April 19, 1975.

It was named after the famous Indian astronomer and was India's first satellite. It was completely designed and fabricated in India and launched by a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket from Kapustin Yar.

1976-2000

Voyager 1

September 5, 1977

Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and the interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.

Hubble Space Telescope

April 24, 1990

It is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit and remains in operation. It is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy.

2001-Present day

Moon Impact Probe

October 22, 2008

It was developed by the ISRO and is a lunar probe that was released by ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lunar remote sensing orbiter which in turn was launched aboard a modified version of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It discovered the presence of water on the Moon.

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

November 5, 2013

India's first interplanetary mission to planet Mars was launched on board PSLV-C25. ISRO has become the fourth space agency to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars orbit. Though the designed mission life is 6 months, MOM completed 7 years in its orbit on Sept 24, 2021.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy

February 6, 2018

Maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket by SpaceX, the most powerful operational rocket in the world.

Chandrayaan-3

July 22, 2019

It is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the ISRO. The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover. India became the first country to touch down near the lunar south pole, the southernmost lunar landing.

1955 1975 2000 Present Day