Interactive timeline
History of spaceflight · 1926–2026
PERIOD →
USANational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
USSR / RussiaOKB-1 / Soviet space program (today Roscosmos)
EuropeEuropean Space Agency (ESA)
ChinaChina National Space Administration (CNSA)
CommercialSpaceX
Other
19261951197620012026
USSR / Russia4 October 1957
Launch of Sputnik 1
The first artificial satellite of Earth opened the Space Age and kicked off the space race between the USA and the USSR.
Unrealized plans and concepts
◌ what never got builtAn alternate history of spaceflight — rockets, engines, and missions that never left the drawing board.
Buran — the unfinished fleet
◌ CONCEPTBuran — the unfinished fleet1976–1993The Soviet answer to the American Space Shuttle. Of a planned fleet of five orbiters, only Buran itself ever flew — a single flight in 1988, uncrewed and fully automatic. The program was cancelled after the collapse of the USSR, and the partly built orbiters were left unfinished.
Constellation — return to the Moon
◌ CONCEPTConstellation — return to the Moon2005–2010The program of Ares I/Ares V launchers and the Orion spacecraft that was to return Americans to the Moon by 2020. It was cancelled in 2010 due to budget cuts, although development of Orion later continued under the Artemis program.
Space Shuttle-C — the cargo Shuttle variant
◌ CONCEPTSpace Shuttle-C — the cargo Shuttle variantstudie 1984–1995An uncrewed cargo version of the Space Shuttle with no orbiter — in its place, a cargo container mounted on the engines and tank. It was meant to launch heavy payloads (such as parts of the Freedom space station) but never secured funding.
Sea Dragon — the ocean giant
◌ CONCEPTSea Dragon — the ocean giantnávrh 1962A concept for a giant launch vehicle (over 150 m tall) lifting off directly from the ocean surface, proposed for NASA by engineer Robert Truax. Its simple steel construction was meant to make it extremely cheap — it never progressed beyond a feasibility study.
N1-L3 — the Soviet lunar launcher
◌ CONCEPTN1-L3 — the Soviet lunar launchercca 1969–1972A giant Soviet rocket intended to carry cosmonauts to the Moon. All four test launches (1969–1972) ended in explosions while still in the atmosphere; the program was quietly cancelled in 1974 without a single successful flight.