The defining missions of the space age — from the first human in orbit to the return to the Moon. Mission profiles, timelines, crew data, key milestones and links to live tracking for spacecraft still in orbit.
Last updated: · · Sources: NASA, ESA, CNSA, Roscosmos
Humanity's journey beyond Earth began on 4 October 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 — a 58 cm polished sphere that orbited Earth every 96 minutes, broadcasting a simple radio pulse that changed the world. Within a decade, astronauts had walked on the Moon. Within half a century, humanity had built permanent habitats in orbit, landed rovers on Mars, and launched telescopes capable of seeing the first light of the universe.
This section catalogues the most significant missions in spaceflight history, organised by programme and era. Each profile covers objectives, key dates, crew (where applicable), spacecraft, launch vehicles, outcomes, and lasting significance. Where a spacecraft or satellite is still in orbit, we link directly to its live tracking page.
The pace of spaceflight is accelerating. In the 2020s alone, SpaceX has launched more mass to orbit than all previous decades combined, China has built a permanently crewed space station, and NASA's Artemis programme is returning humans to the Moon. Commercial crew, space tourism, and mega-constellations have transformed low Earth orbit from a government domain into a thriving commercial frontier.