NASA's Atlantis Space Shuttle ferried the Magellan space probe into orbit.
The Soviet Union's uncrewed Buran space shuttle completed its first and only space flight.
US Air Force divers located the Challenger Space Shuttle's crew cabin at the bottom of the ocean.
The Soviet Union's Vega 1 Space Probe began sending back images of Halley's Comet.
Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members.
NASA's Voyager 2 came into close contact with Uranus and captured many images that uncovered 11 new moons.
NASA's Columbia Space Shuttle completed mission STS-61-C when it landed at the Edwards Air Force Base.
NASA launched Intelsat VA F-11 into orbit.
Russian spacecraft Vega 2 landed on Venus.
Soviet Space Program's Vega 1, which was launched on December 15, 1984, released a space probe to enter Venus.
Cosmonauts Titov and Strekalov narrowly escaped the Soyuz T-10 spacecraft explosion.
The first Hughes Communications Galaxy satellite was launched into orbit.
NASA's spacecraft, The Pioneer 10, became the first craft to exit the solar system.
The USSR's Venera 16 probe was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a trip to Venus.
NASA's Challenger Space Shuttle was launched from Florida on its maiden voyage.
NASA launched the Columbia Space Shuttle for its final test flight, STS-4.
NASA's Columbia Space Shuttle was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center.
After a four-month journey, the Venera 14 spacecraft landed on Venus.
The first Space Shuttle mission was launched.
NASA's UK-6 was launched into space.
The world's first fully-functional space shuttle, Columbia, was delivered to the JFK Space Center.
The Space Shuttle takes off on its maiden flight.
The Viking 2 became the second spacecraft to land on Mars.
Viking I lands on Mars.
America's robot spacecraft, the Viking I, successfully landed on Mars.
NASA successfully launched the experimental CTS Hermes satellite atop a Delta 2914 rocket.
The Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 went into Venus' orbit – making it the first to do so.
A NASA X-ray astronomy space telescope called 'Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 53' was launched into space.
The Soviet Union's Soyuz 17 was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Soyuz rocket.
NASA's SMS-1 satellite launched from Cape Canaveral atop a Delta rocket.
NASA's Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to reach Mercury.
The crew of Skylab 4 returned to Earth.
NASA launched the last space probe in the Mariner Program, Mariner 10.
The Soviet spacecraft Mars 6 was launched.
NASA's Explorer 49 was launched into Earth's orbit to research long-range radio waves within the Milky Way.
NASA launched the Pioneer 11 space probe to study the asteroid belt & the environment around Jupiter and Saturn.
The unmanned space mission Luna 21 was launched.
Landsat 1 launched.
The Apollo 16 lunar module landed on the surface of the Moon.
The Apollo 16 mission launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The US spacecraft Pioneer 10 launched.
The USSR's uncrewed Luna 20 lunar lander successfully touched down on the surface of the Moon.
The mapping of Mars' surface began.
Prospero became the first British satellite to have been launched successfully by a British rocket.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ITOS-B weather satellite launched atop a Delta rocket.
The crew of Soviet spacecraft 'Soyuz 11' dies after the loss of air supply.
The Soviet Union's ill-fated Soyuz 11 mission was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The US Mariner 9 was launched – it went on to become the first satellite to orbit Mars.
The USSR attempted to launch an uncrewed spacecraft to Mars.
The Soviet Union launches the world's first manned space station.
