Firsts in Space

In 1957, the Soviet Union (which is now a country called Russia) launched Sputnik, the Earth’s first satellite in space. 

Many Americans were shocked. They wanted the US to be first country to do so.

This marks the moment when the US and Soviet Union began competing against each other. It was called the “Space Race”.

Space exploration quickly became one of this country’s top priorities. In 1958, the US government created a federal agency called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its mission was to explore science and technology involving airplanes and space. Could the US send humans into space and, just as important, return them safely to Earth?

The following year, America introduced its first group of seven astronauts to the world. They came from different military branches and were among the nation’s top military test pilots. They would soon start training as astronauts for Project Mercury, the first phase of the US space program.  

But before they finished training and could travel into space, the Soviet Union then sent the first human into space in 1961. Yuri Gagarin circled the Earth once at a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour during his 108-minute flight. 

The US was losing the Space Race to the Soviet Union. It had to plan something even more spectacular involving space exploration. President John F. Kennedy, the 35th US president, made a commitment to the world: the US would be the first country to land a man on the moon, which is almost 239,000 miles away from Earth, before the end of the decade. 

But a lot had to be accomplished before that happened. These seven US astronauts would help lay the groundwork for landing a man on the moon.

Who were these astronauts? Just as important, what did they do and accomplish?

• Walter H. Schirra, Jr.: His unique tasks included testing and improving the pressurized suit worn by astronauts when flying in space. Likewise, he helped develop life-support systems that would make astronauts safe and comfortable in the spacecraft during missions. In 1962, he piloted the space capsule Sigma 7 that orbited the Earth six times. During the next six years, he completed two other missions and was the only one of the original seven astronauts to fly aboard Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecrafts. 
•  Donald K. Slayton: Due to a heart condition, Slayton couldn’t travel into space for more than a decade. Until then, he served as the coordinator of astronaut activities in 1962 and then director of flight crew operations. After his heart improved, he made his first space flight in 1972. It was the first joint space flight between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts.
• John H. Glenn, Jr.: In 1962, he became the first American to orbit the Earth.  He made three orbits around Earth, spending about five hours in space aboard a spacecraft called Friendship 7, which he named. This mission helped NASA learn more about traveling in space. Then in 1998, at age 77, Glenn became the oldest person to fly in space when he flew with six other astronauts on the space shuttle. This flight helped NASA learn about the effects of space on older people.  
• Scott Carpenter: In 1962, he piloted the second American spacecraft that orbited the Earth three times. But in the summer of 1965, his focus shifted in the other direction – the ocean. During a Navy experiment called Man-in-the-Sea, he spent 30 days as an Aquanaut in the Sealab II program, living and working on the ocean floor off the coast of La Jolla, California.. He was the team leader for two of the three teams, which consisted of 10 Navy and civilian divers.
•  Alan B. Shepard, Jr.: In 1961, he became the first American to journey into space aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Two years later, he served as the Chief of the Astronaut Office, which controlled all activities involving NASA astronauts. His second space flight took place in 1971 when he commanded Apollo 14, which was man’s third lunar landing mission. He logged almost 217 hours in space. More than nine of those hours were spent on the moon.
• Virgil I. Gus Grissom: In 1961, he piloted the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft. The flight lasted almost 16 minutes. He served as the command pilot on two flights: the first manned Gemini flight and later, Apollo flight. During the Apollo mission, his crew was the first to steer the spacecraft and change its path and also the first to control the spacecraft’s landing—making it land like an airplane – instead of splashing down into ocean.
• L. Gordon Cooper: In 1963, he piloted the Faith 7 aircraft, orbiting the Earth 22 times, which at the time, was the longest American space flight. He also served as the command pilot of the Gemini 5 mission, backup command pilot for Gemini 12, and also backup commander for Apollo 10. He logged 222 hours in space. 

Since then, there have been many other American firsts in space:

• In 1968, Apollo 8 was the first mission that took humans to the Moon and back. The crew spent 20 hours orbiting the moon and then returned to Earth.
• In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon. That Apollo 11 crew also included Astronauts Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldron, Jr.  
• In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed by Shuttle Discovery. It is the first major optical telescope to orbit Earth. 
• The first International Space Station was launched in 1998 by the US, Japan, Russia, Canada, and participating countries of the European Space Agency.  NASA Astronaut Bill Shepherd and Cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev became the first crew to live on the station. 
• In 2015, New Horizons was the first spacecraft to explore Pluto up close, flying by the dwarf planet and its five moons. It later reached the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth in 2019, the most distant object from Earth ever explored up close. 
• In 2016, NASA’s Juno spacecraft was the first to peer below Jupiter’s dense clouds. This information has helped answer questions about the origin and evolution of Jupiter, our solar system, and giant planets across the cosmos.

Take a few moments to think about everything that had to be accomplished before any of these “firsts” could happen. What challenges do you think NASA had to overcome or figure out? For example, how could NASA design and build spacecraft that could withstand the harsh conditions of space? How could this same spacecraft be light enough to launch into space and safely return astronauts back home? How could spacecraft transmit clear pictures or images back to Earth? How should astronauts train to deal with the unknown?

What would you like to do first in space?  Maybe you’ll be the first human to fly to Mars. Maybe you’ll be among the first group of humans to colonize Mars or another planet.

What would you like to discover first in space? A new planet or galaxy? Would you like to be the first human to find or meet an alien? What do you think aliens look like? Where do they live?

Humans have only explored a tiny portion of space, such as stars, planets, galaxies, comets, asteroids, and cosmic rays. There’s so more to discover, much more than we can ever think of or imagine. 

Is there something you recently discovered about America’s firsts in space that you want to share with other kids? Mo wants to know! Email us your information at info@adventuresofmo.com along with your first name, age and state you live in and we’ll post it on Mo’s social media sites.