Top 25+ Photos that Show the History of Human Space Flight

Once a battleground for America and the Soviet Union’s Cold War competition, space flight has been a hothouse for discovery, showboating, and scientific ingenuity. We all stare up at the sky on a clear night and wonder what lies beyond the Earth’s surface, and for over half a century, NASA and the Soviet space program have been sending people and machines into space to explore the great unknown. No longer the stuff of sci-fi films, even smaller countries and private companies are now racing to explore the deep, dark void of space. Hopefully, one day in the not-so-distant future, we can, too. For now, marvelling at the photos of these pivotal moments in our history of space travel will need to suffice.

#1: Yuri Gagarin’s Historic Flight (1961)

In April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, orbiting Earth at 27,400 km/h in Vostok 1. His entire mission lasted just 108 minutes, completing one full orbit of the planet. Gagarin didn’t land in the capsule—he ejected at 7 km altitude and parachuted safely to Earth.

#3: John Glenn Orbits Earth (1962)

John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962, circling the planet three times in under five hours and reaching speeds over 17,000 mph. His spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere in a fiery blaze, prompting Glenn to radio back, “Boy, that was a real fireball.” This U.S. milestone came just 10 months after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.

#4: Valentina Tereshkova: First Woman in Space (1963)

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963, spending nearly three days alone in orbit aboard Vostok 6—longer than all U.S. astronauts had flown at the time combined. Though she never piloted the spacecraft, Tereshkova orbited Earth 48 times, ejected from her capsule at 20,000 feet and parachuted to a safe landing.

#6: Gemini 4: America’s First Spacewalk (1965)

Just months after Alexei Leonov’s journey, American astronaut Ed White followed with a U.S. spacewalk, using a hand-held oxygen jet to float outside the Gemini 4 capsule over the Pacific Ocean. His 23-minute spacewalk covered an orbit from Hawaii to the Gulf of Mexico, but after just 3 minutes the jet ran out of fuel, forcing him to maneuver by twisting and tugging on his tether.

#7: Apollo 1 Crew (1967)

On January 27, 1967, astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee died in a launch pad fire during a preflight test for what would later be named Apollo 1, marking NASA’s first spaceflight tragedy. The fire led to a year-long suspension of crewed Apollo missions while the command module was completely redesigned for safety.

#9: Apollo 8: First Human Orbit of the Moon (1968)

Apollo 8 was the first mission to send humans around the Moon, making astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders the first people to see the Moon’s far side during their 20 hours in lunar orbit. After orbiting the Moon 10 times, Apollo 8 splashed down just over 5,000 yards from the USS Yorktown—right on schedule.

#10: Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon (1969)

The first Moon landing was experienced purely through audio by those on Earth, with a silent 16-mm camera mounted on the Lunar Module providing footage that wasn’t seen until it was developed on Earth. After planting the American flag on the Moon, Aldrin performed soil cohesion tests, and both astronauts used a pulley system to exchange equipment while setting up experiments for Earth to study.

#12: Skylab: America’s First Space Station (1973)

Skylab, America’s first space station, launched on May 14, 1973, aboard the last Saturn V rocket. Despite early launch issues, it hosted three crews of astronauts for long-duration missions, conducting groundbreaking research in life sciences, Earth sciences, and solar physics.

#13: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975)

The Apollo-Soyuz mission began on July 15, 1975, with Soyuz 19 launching from Kazakhstan and Apollo launching from Kennedy Space Center. After two days of orbital adjustments, the spacecraft docked on July 17, marking the first U.S.-Soviet joint space mission. The astronauts and cosmonauts shared a historic handshake as they exchanged gifts, conducted experiments, and toured each other’s spacecraft during their 47 hours together in orbit.

#15: Sally Ride: First American Woman in Space (1983)

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space during the Space Shuttle Challenger’s STS-7 mission, where she helped deploy and retrieve satellites using the shuttle’s robotic arm. Ride’s mission coincided almost exactly with the 20th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s historic flight.

#16: Challenger Disaster (1986)

The space shuttle Challenger launched its first mission in April 1983, completing nine successful missions before its tragic explosion on January 28, 1986, which killed all seven crew members. The Challenger disaster, which occurred just 73 seconds after liftoff, fundamentally changed NASA’s space program and led to extensive reforms in safety and procedures.

#18: Hubble Space Telescope Deployment (1990)

Launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope began its mission of groundbreaking astronomical discoveries, orbiting Earth for over three decades. Hubble’s tight fit inside the Shuttle’s cargo bay required the telescope’s components, like solar arrays and antennas, to be stowed securely for launch.

#19: STS-61: Hubble Repair Mission (1993)

In December 1993, the STS-61 mission successfully repaired the Hubble Space Telescope during five spacewalks, correcting a major flaw in its optics and improving its ability to capture clear, sharp images from space. The astronauts replaced critical components like solar arrays and rate-sensing gyroscopes, laying the groundwork for the telescope’s improved functionality.

#22: Columbia Disaster (2003)

The Columbia disaster in 2003 resulted in the loss of seven astronauts when foam from the shuttle’s external tank breached its wing, a problem NASA had known about for years. In memory of the lost crew, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center features a permanent exhibit called “Forever Remembered,” showcasing debris from both the Challenger and Columbia missions.

#24: SpaceX Crew Dragon: Private Sector Enters Orbit (2020)

 In 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to launch astronauts into orbit, sending NASA veterans Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station from the same pad once used for Apollo missions. The Falcon 9 rocket’s booster stage successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean—a once unthinkable maneuver that SpaceX has turned into a standard part of its missions.

#25: Artemis I Launches Moon Return Era (2022)

NASA’s Artemis I mission sent the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a record-breaking 1.4-million-mile journey around the Moon and back, reaching over 268,000 miles from Earth—farther than any spacecraft built for humans had traveled before. After enduring re-entry temperatures of around 5,000°F, Orion slowed from nearly 25,000 mph to just 20 mph and parachuted safely into the Pacific Ocean, where it was recovered by a joint NASA and military team.