Space Travel History

Do you know who was the first person who walked on the moon? Find the answer and other basic history of space travelling on this page!

Neil Alden Armstrong, first soft-landing on the moon and the first moon walk          

Armstrong, Neil Alden was born in 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA. Armstrong was U.S. Navy pilot during the Korean War. In 1955 after Armstrong graduated from Purdue University he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where he served as a test pilot. Eleven years later in 1966 Armstrong became the first civilian to enter astronaut-training program. In the same year he was the pilot of the Gemini 8 flight to space, which accomplished the first physical joining of two orbiting spacecraft's. On July 15, 1969, Neil Armstrong as a commander of the Apollo 11 mission became the first human to set foot on the moon. In 1971 Armstrong became a space engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati. "One small step for a man, is one huge step for humanity" Neil Armstrong.

Skylab, First American Space Station             

Skylab was the first American space station. The Skylab mission consisted of three space stations, which were launched in 1973 by NASA using the 100-ton Skylab module into orbit around the earth from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Each of the Skylab astronauts was launched separately in an Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM). The cosmonauts stayed in Skylab for periods of 28, 59, and 84 days, respectively. The Skylab mission proved that it was possible for humans to live and work in weightless environment for extended period of time without suffering any ill affects. In addition, the Skylab astronauts successfully completed experiments on solar physics, earth observations, and crystal growth in zero gravity.