Satellite Timeline
Patricia M / Physics Section 366 / 17 April 1997
Throughout history satellites have moved from having no special capabilities
to being able to explore other worlds. This has led to new technologies,
to improve and better our society because of the discoveries, The outline
of all the things that have occurred are listed below. Beginning from the
first launched and going all the way to the more modern ones.
1950' S
On October 4, 1957 Sputnik 1 was launched, it was the first man made
object to orbit the earth. It was named Sputnik Zemli or traveling companion
of the world by the Soviet Union. Soon after on January 31, 1958 the US
launched its first satellite called Explorer 1. Over the next few years
many improvements were made in satellite technology.
October 4,1957 Sputnik 1 launched- USSR
November 3,1957 Sputnik 2 launched- USSR
January 31, 1958 Explorer 1 launched- USA
March 5,1958 Explorer 2 launched- USA
March 17,1958 Vanguard 1 launched
May 15,1958 Sputnik 3 launched- USSR
October 11,1958 Pioneer 1 launched- USA
January 2,1959 Luna 1 launched- USA
March 3,1959 Pioneer 4 launched- USA
September 12,1959 Luna 2 launched- USSR
October 4,1959 Luna 3 launched- USSR
1960' S
During the 1960's improvements in satellites continued. The first men
were launched for both the US in Mercury Freedom 7 and for the USSR in
Vostrok 1. Great developments continued in space such as exploring other
planets and sending signals across the ocean.
April 1,1960 Trios 1 weather satellite launched- US
August 18,1960 Discovery XIV spy satellite launched- US
April 1,1961 Vostrok 1 carrying first man in space- USSR
May 5,1961 Mercury Freedom 7 first US man in space- US
August 6,1961 Vostrok 2 first 5 day flight- USSR
July 10,1962 Telstar 1 completed first transatlantic telecast- US
December 16, 1962 Mariner 2 flies past Venus into solar orbit- US
July 31,1964 Ranger 7 takes first close range photos of moon- US
March 24,1965 Ranger 9 transmits first live moon photos- US
July 14,1965 Mariner 4 returns first close range images of Mars- US
November 16,1965 Venus 3 first craft to impact Venus- USSR
February 3,1966 Luna 9 first to soft land on the moon- USSR
March, 1966 Surveyor 1 first US soft land on moon- US
August 14, 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 returns first pictures of earth- US
September 15, 1968 Zoned 5 orbits moon and returns- USSR
July 31, 1969 Mariner 6 returns images of Martian surface equatorial
region
August 5, 1969 Mariner 7 returns images of Martian surface southern
hemisphere
1970' S
The study of other planets through the use of satellites continued
and they were used more often to map the other planets in our solar system.
The satellites were used mainly to find out the conditions on the other
planets and to try to find life on other planets mainly, Venus and Mars.
September 12,1970 Luna 16 returns lunar oil samples- USSR
November 17,1970 Luna 17 first automatic robot on moon travels 11 days-
USSR
December 15,1970 Venera 7 first to soft land on Venus- USSR
May 30, 1971 Mariner 9 first mars survey from orbit- US
November 13, 1971 Mariner 9 maps 100% of Martian surface
March 2, 1972 Pioneer 10 designed to familiarize alien life with humans,
returns close ups of Jupiter 1973- US
April 5, 1973 Pioneer 11 discovers new rings around Saturn- US
November 3, 1973 Mariner 10 returns photos of Venus and Mercury- US
May 17, 1974 SMS-1 Synchronous Meteorological Satellite- US
October, 1975 Venera 9 and 10 return photos of Venus and mercury surface-
USSR
July 20,1976 Viking 1 pictures of Martian surface- US
September 3, 1976 Viking 2 lands on Mars plain of Utopia discovers
water frost
August- September 1977 Voyagers 1 and 2 leave earth for Jupiter and
Saturn
1980'S
Throughout the 1980's the exploration of our galaxy continued and stretched
into the belief of their being others planets like earth. Numerous photos
continued being returned and the technology pushed satellites into new
dimensions.
June 19, 1981 third Ariane rocket launched by the European Space Agency
December 20, 1981 fourth arien rocket launched by ESA
October 10, 1983 Venera 15 returns first photos of Venus polar region-
USSR
January- November, 1983 Inferred Astronomical satellite discovers new
comets, asteroids, galaxies and a dusting around the star vega that may
be new planets
December, 1984 Vega 1 and 2 launched, drops probes into Venus's atmosphere-
Soviet/ international
January 8, 1985 Skigate launched by Japan's institute space and aeronautical
science first to rendezvous with Haley's comet
July 2, 1985 Giotto launched by ESA from an Ariane rocket, encounters
both Haley's comet and comet P/Grigs-Skjellerup
July 12, 1989 Phobous 2 orbits Mars studying atmosphere and magnetic
field- Soviet/ international
October 18, 1989 Galileo launched from shuttle Atlantis took pictures
of Venus and asteroid Ida then continues to Jupiter- US
1990'S
So far through the 1990's satellites continue being improved. Yet space
ships seem to be improving faster and taking over what these satellites
have accomplished so far.
August, 1990 Magellan arrives at Venus and takes radar images of the
surface- US
February 8, 1992 Ulysses flies around Jupiter and heads towards the
sun
January 24, 1994 Clemintine performs lunar mapping mission- US
October 12, 1994 NASA launches first in a series of discovery series
of spacecraft the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous [NEAR] space craft aboard
a Delta 11-7925-8 rocket
Over the last 40 years satellites have come a long way. The changes
in technology have brought new ideas on what can be accomplished in future
space exploration. The future still looks great for satellite function
and exploration.
Bibliography
Encarta 94' Microsoft, Comptons Living Encyclopedia, AOL, January
6,1997.
"History of Space Exploration" http://nauts.com/histpace/histpace.html.
"Satellite Artificial" Encarta CD-ROM. Funk band Wangles
corp. 1993-1995.