DA TIMELINE

The Space Race

Aviation Timeline

Hot Air & Gas Balloons

Powered Flight

The Earliest Contributions to Flight

Jet-Propelled Airplanes

Steam-Powered Airships & Biplane Gliders

Powered Flight

A watershed moment in aviation history came in 1903 when Orville & Wilbur Wright successfully executed the first powered, sustained & controlled flight for a heavier-than-air flying machine. This famous flight lasted just 12 seconds, but the Wright Brothers quickly refined their machine to make it more functional. By 1909, the airplane was sophisticated enough to cross the English Channel. As soon as powered flight became possible, aviation technology advanced rapidly & planes were quickly militarized.

Jet Propelled Aircraft

The 1930s saw another significant invention, the jet engine. Frank Whittle is credited with this invention since he registered a patent for his turbojet engine in 1930. A German physicist named Hans von Ohain was the first to develop a jet plane. The plane, called the Heinkel He 178, flew for the first time on August 27, 1939. Other scientists and engineers, such as Anselm Franz, would build on these early models to create powerful jet fighters for use in World War II and eventually commercial jet planes.

In the late 18th century, the hot air balloon arrived on the scene with the first untethered hot air balloon ride in Paris on November 21, 1783.  built by the Montgolfier brothers, it was made from paper and silk. It soared about 500 feet above the ground and travelled over five miles in 25 minutes. Just 10 days later, Jacques Alexander Charles and Nicholas Louis Robert launched the first gas balloon. Rather than relying solely on hot air, this balloon used hydrogen.

Hot Air & Gas Balloons

The Earliest Contributions to Flight

In around 1000 B.C. kites first appeared in China. Kites are the oldest known device that is heavier than air & uses lift from the wind to fly. This same principle would be used later to keep airplanes in flight. Throughout the next millennia, people occasionally theorized & experimented. One of the most famous examples is Leonardo da Vinci. He wrote extensively on the topic of flight and created over 500 sketches of various flying machines.

Steam-Powered Airships & Biplane Gliders

By the mid-19th century, people were exploring other options for flying. Both a design for an aerial steam carriage & a biplane were published in 1843. In 1852, Henri Giffard completed the first flight with a steam-powered airship. In the 1890s, Otto Lilienthal &  Octave Chanute experimented with biplane gliders. The first famous flight in the 20th century was Alberto Santos-Dumont’s flight around the Eiffel Tower in an airship.

The Space Race

Next, people set their sights on achieving new heights. The space race was on. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made earth satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter space. The following year, the U.S. sent John H. Glenn, Jr. into space to orbit the Earth. In 1969, American astronauts Neil A. Armstrong & Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. made the first moon landing. The 1970s, 80s & 90s all saw historic launches.

The first space station was launched in 1971, followed by the first reusable spacecraft in 1981 & finally the first two modules of the International Space Station in 1998. In 2000, astronauts arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).