- October 4, 1957: The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, is launched by the Soviet Union.
- November 3, 1957: Sputnik 2 is launched, carrying the dog Laika, the first living creature in orbit.
- January 31, 1958: Explorer 1, the first United States satellite, is launched.
- April 1, 1960: TIROS-1, the first weather satellite, is launched by the United States.
- July 10, 1962: Telstar, the first communications satellite, is launched.
- August 12, 1964: Syncom 3, the first geostationary communications satellite, is launched.
- April 24, 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched.
- October 25, 1992: The Mars Observer spacecraft is launched to study the planet Mars.
- October 4, 1997: Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is launched to study the planet Saturn and its moon Titan.
- March 20, 1999: The International Space Station (ISS) is launched.
- October 21, 2006: The New Horizons spacecraft is launched to study the dwarf planet Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
- February 25, 2007: The Dawn spacecraft is launched to study the asteroid belt and dwarf planet Ceres.
- February 17, 2009: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched to study the Moon.
- May 21, 2011: Messenger is launched to study Mercury.
- November 26, 2011: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft is launched to study the planet Mars.
- July 20, 2015: Pluto New Horizons completes flyby and returns images.