Firsts and blast-offs
FIRST MAN: Russian Yuri Gagarin went around the Earth in 1961 in 108 minutes in the Vostok 1 space capsule to make him the first man in space. American astronaut Neil Armstrong famously became the first man to walk on the Moon, in 1969.
FIRST WOMAN: Russian Valentina Tereshkova – a textile worker and amateur skydiver – was the first female and first civilian to leave Earth in a rocket, in 1963. She remains the only woman to have been on a solo space mission.
FIRST BRITON: Chemist Helen Sharman from Sheffield was the first Brit, first Western European woman and first privately funded woman in space, as well as being the first woman to visit the Mir space station in May 1991.
FIRST CREATURE: As experts tried to figure out human survival off planet Earth they sent fruit flies on an American V-2 rocket in 1947, which reached an altitude of 108km. They returned safely.
FIRST UNTETHERED SPACEWALK: It’s a famous haunting image seeing an astronaut untethered from their spaceship. Bruce McCandless II was the man behind the mask in 1984 performing the impressive feat using a propulsion unit.
FIRST DEATHS: When a breathing valve broke, three members of the Russian Soyuz 11 crew – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev – died at 105 miles above the Earth’s surface in 1971.
FIRST SPORT: Naval aviator, test pilot and businessman Alan Shepard was not only the first American to go into space but the first astronaut to swing easy and hit a golf ball on the Moon in 1971.
FIRST MARATHON: Running through zero-gravity while strapped to a treadmill is no mean feat but in 2007 American astronaut Sunita Williams did just that to take part in the Boston Marathon from space. She clocked up a finishing time of four hours and 24 minutes.
FIRST ROYAL: Rich and powerful royals can usually command anything they want – that includes getting off this planet. Sultan bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia didn’t just wave his wonga to get a pass but chalked up 1,000 flight hours as a payload specialist in the Royal Saudi Air Force. He was also the first Muslim in space.
FIRST TOURIST: Richard Branson and Elon Musk are determined to corner the space tourism market, but back in 2001 American entrepreneur Dennis Tito beat them to it. He splashed out £16.4million on a jolly to the International Space Station.
FIRST FARSIDE VIEW: As Fa-mous photos go it's right up there with the most impressive. American William Anders caught the first picture of the far side of the
Moon in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission.
FIRST DOG: Stray mongrel Laika from Russia was the first animal to orbit the Earth and the first dog in space in 1957. She died due to a lack of oxygen as there was no plan for her to survive the mission.
FIRST CAT: After the Russians sent the first dog and America the first monkey, France put the first cat into space after training 14 kittens for a mission. Félicette went on a 93-mile trip which took 15 minutes going over the surface of Earth before she put her paws safely back on home turf.
FIRST COUPLE: Most couples will go to any lengths for their partner but Jan Davis and Mark Lee went the extra mile, and then some, when they were both on board space shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Lightyear will be released in cinemas on Friday.