1957 → today · missions · rockets · people
From a beeping metal sphere in 1957 to reusable rockets and private crews — the people, machines and moments that built the space age, and the New Space era reshaping it now. Explore the timeline, meet the pioneers, and hover every i for more.
Missions & milestones
Seven decades of firsts, in five eras. Filter by era, then click any milestone for the full story and an anecdote.
The machines
Every mission rides a rocket. Here are the icons of each era drawn to the same height scale — from the V-2 to Starship. Click any to see its specs and story. Bars also show payload to low Earth orbit.
Heights to scale; click a rocket for detail. Payload-to-orbit varies hugely — that is the real story of progress.
Who made it happen
Theorists, engineers, astronauts and the people behind the scenes. Click any for their contribution and a story.
The era we're in
New Space is the shift, from roughly the 2000s onward, from spaceflight run almost entirely by governments to one driven by private companies, private capital and commercial markets. It is less a single event than a change in culture and economics: reusable rockets, mass-produced satellites, falling launch costs, and agencies buying services instead of building everything themselves.
The turning point most people point to is the Ansari X Prize in 2004 — the first privately built crewed spacecraft — and the founding of SpaceX (2002) and Blue Origin (2000). When SpaceX landed and reflew an orbital rocket booster (2015–2017), the economics of access to space changed for good.
The human side
The moments that don't fit on a spec sheet. Click any for the full story.
Test yourself
Three quick games — instant feedback and a running score.
Top-left: which event came first? Top-right: Old Space or New Space? Bottom: identify the milestone.
Quick reference
Dates are historical record; figures are rounded for clarity. A teaching overview, not an exhaustive catalogue — entire missions and people are necessarily left out.