Space history at a glance

Britain's contribution to space science began hundreds of years before Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announced a new British space research programme in 1959.

For centuries our scientists and astronomers have shaped how the world is seen and they continue to add to our knowledge of the Universe through space missions and ground-based science.

The following list highlights some of the most important discoveries for science as well as key missions involving British scientists and engineers.

1668

Sir Isaac Newton builds the first reflecting telescope. Over 300 years later, Newton's invention forms the basis of the Hubble Space Telescope.

1675

John Flamsteed becomes the first Astronomer Royal at The Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

1687

Newton publishes Principia Mathematica, possibly the most important book in the history of science. It contains his theory of universal gravitation, marking the beginning of modern astronomy.

1705

Edmund Halley correctly predicts that a comet seen in 1682 would reappear in 1758. The comet, now named after Halley, is visible from Earth every 7576 years. It featured in the famous Bayeux Tapestry, was last seen from Earth in 1986 and observed in close-up by ESA's Giotto spacecraft. The comet will return in 2061.

1781

William Herschel, a German musician who spent his whole life in England, discovers the planet Uranus with a mirror telescope of his own creation.

1798

Henry Cavendish, an English chemist and physicist, first measures the force of gravity between two objects.

1846

Calculations made by English mathematician John Couch Adams enable Johann Galle to see Neptune for the first time.

1856

Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell proves that Saturn's rings are not solid, liquid or gaseous but are actually made up of different independent particles.

1897

JJ Thompson, a leading English mathematician and physicist of the late 19th century, discovers the electron.

1919

During an expedition to view a solar eclipse in Africa, English astrophysicist Arthur Eddington proves Einstein's prediction that gravity bends light.

1932

English physicist James Chadwick proves the existence of neutrons.

1957

Launch of first British Skylark sounding rocket.

1957

The UK's massive Jodrell Bank radio telescope becomes operational.

1957

Sputnik becomes the first manmade object to enter orbit.

1957

Russian dog Laika becomes the first creature to be launched into space.

1959

In September Soviets crash land a probe on the Moon. A few weeks later Lunik 3 sends back the first pictures of the far side of the Moon.

1959

First meeting of the British National Committee on Space. This is the first committee to advise the Government on space issues. Later in the year, Harold Macmillan announces a new British space research programme.

1961

Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to orbit the Earth and returns a hero.

1962

The first international satellite, Ariel 1, is launched. Built by NASA, it contained six instruments developed by British scientists.

1963

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.

1963

The British Government establishes the Space Research Management Unit, a forerunner of the BNSC.

1965

Cosmonaut Alexi Leonov is the first person to 'walk' in space.

1967

The first all British satellite, Ariel 3, is launched.

1969

On 21 July, Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to set foot on the surface of the Moon.

1971

British Prospero satellite launched on British Black Arrow launch vehicle.

1975

The European Space Agency (ESA) is established with the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland as founder members.

1976

America's Viking I spacecraft lands on Mars and sends back the first photographs of the planet's surface.

1979

The first European-built rocket, Ariane 1, successfully completes its maiden flight.

1980

The Voyager 1 space probe sends back vivid images of Saturn.

1985

The British Government sets up the BNSC.

1986

Space station Mir is launched by the Soviet Union.

1988

Professor Stephen Hawking publishes A Brief History of Time, the most influential book about space written in the last 100 years.

1990

The Hubble Space Telescope is launched.

1991

Helen Sharman from Sheffield becomes the first Briton in space when she joins the crew for Project Juno. This was a Soviet mission, partly funded by British companies.

1992

Michael Foale becomes the first British-born man in space, as part of the crew for the Space Shuttle mission STS45.

1995

The joint NASA/ESA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is launched.

1997

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, a joint mission between NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency, is launched to Saturn.

1997

The Pathfinder robot begins its exploration of Mars.

2001

The Aurora project begins, with the first launch due in 2011.

2002

Piers Sellers joins the crew of the STS112 mission and becomes the third British-born astronaut in space.

2002

The first satellite for the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) is launched. All five satellites in the group have been built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.

2003

The launch of Mars Express.

2003

Europe's first mission to the Moon, SMART-1, is launched.

2003

China succeeds in sending its first manned spacecraft into orbit.

2003

Mars Express arrives in orbit. It releases the Beagle 2 probe but the signal from the lander is lost.

2004

ESA's Rosetta spacecraft launched on its way to a rendezvous with Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko.

2004

The Mercury Messenger mission is launched to the Sun's closest planet.

2005

The Huygens probe begins its descent through Titan's atmosphere. The first part of the probe to land on Titan was built in Britain.

2005

The European Venus Express mission is launched and Mars Express sends back images of the Red Planet.

2005

The world's largest and most sophisticated civilian telecommunications satellite, UK-built Inmarsat-4 F1, goes into orbit.

2005

Launch of GIOVE-A, the first satellite in the Galileo global positioning system.

2006

NASA's New Horizons mission heads for the outer reaches of our Solar System towards Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

2006

Venus Express reaches its final orbit and begins to send back data.

2006

Solar B, later renamed Hinode, is launched. This three year mission to study the Sun involves ESA and the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

2006

After a highly successful mission, Smart1 undergoes a controlled 'crash' into the Moon.

2007

Japan launches Kaguya (formerly SELENE) for a global survey of the Moon.

2008

India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, is due for launch.

Page last updated: 18 August 2008 by the UK Space Agency