AVIATION AND SPACE TIMELINE

Many events brought us to where we are today as a space-fairing civilization. From the time when people first took to the air, there was an ever-present push to reach higher and go farther. As these documents show, outcomes of prize competitions led to a significant number of those events. For your reference, many of the significant events in the history of aviation and space, with special emphasis on the prizes that were offered and won, are depicted in the timeline below.



1700s -- Return to timeline graphic

November 21, 1783 - First successful manned balloon free flight by Arquis D'Arlandes & Pilatre de Rozier in Paris, France.


1800s -- Return to timeline graphic


1900s -- Return to timeline graphic

December 17, 1903 - First successful powered, manned airplane by Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

1904 - The Deutsch-Archdeacon Grand Prize: Henri Farman won the 100,000 franc prize in 1908 for "flying the first air craft with no balloon no less than one kilometer without touching the ground."

1905 - The Grands Prix De L'Aero-Club: Fourteen prizes consisting of a gold medal and 1,000 francs was given between 1905 and 1926 for this long distance club race.

1906 - The James Gordon Bennet International Aeronautic Trophy: $2,500 was awarded to the winner of an international interclub, long-distance event which was open to "all kinds of apparatus for aerial locomotion" (ballooning). The competition ceased in 1938. Frank P. Lahm, U.S., won the first competition in 1906, and Antoni Janusz, Poland won the last.

October 23, 1906 - Alberto Santos Dumont captured the Ernest Archdeacon prize of £3,000 as the first person to fly 80 feet.

November 12, 1906 - Again, Alberto Santos Dumont claimed the prize, 100,000 francs, offered by the French Aero Club by flying 722 feet. The goal was 100 meters.

1908 - The James Gordon Bennett International Aviation Cup: This was an international racing competition (again for balloons). The competition ceased in 1920. In all, seven awards of a silver trophy and $5,000 were made.

1908 - The Michelin Prize: This Prize of 100,00 francs was awarded to Eugene Renaux and Albert Senouque in 1911. The requirements were "a two-seater aircraft with a two-man crew shall take off from any point in the Seine or Seine et Oise departments, fly around the Arc de Triomphe, go around the Clermont-Ferrand cathedral and land on the top of the Puy-de-Dom within 6 six hours.

1908 - 1927 - The Michelin Cup (International Series): During this period, a series of prize cups were awarded for the longest distance covered in a closed circuit, nonstop, between sunrise and sundown. In 1911 a cup was awarded to Emmanuel Helen for the longest flight in a closed circuit over the countryside, with stops authorized, at an average speed of 55 km per hour. Wilbur Wright won the first Michelin Cup in 1908. The Second series of Michelin Cups was established in 1921. Both cups were worth 20,000 francs and a trophy. In 1927 the ante was "upped" to 30,000 francs plus the trophy for increased speed.

July 25, 1909 - Louis Bleriot won the £1000 offered by the Daily Mail of London for being the first aviator to fly across the English Channel.

August 22 - 29, 1909 - The first international air meet held in Reims, France. Prizes were offered for speed, endurance, altitude and a variety of aircraft categories. Glenn Curtiss won the prize for speed offered by the New York Herald, and Henri Farman won the endurance prize with a flight lasting more than three hours.


1910s -- Return to timeline graphic

1911 - The Robert J. Collier Trophy: Formerly the Aero Club of America Trophy, this prize was renamed in 1922. It was given for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, or safety of air or space vehicles. Glenn H. Curtiss won the first and second competitions in 1911 and 1912. Orville Wright won the third in 1913. The last was given in 1975 to David S. Lewis, F-16 Air Force - Industry Team.

November 5, 1911 - Calbraith (Cal) Perry Rodgers reached Pasadena, Calif., 19 days too late to claim the $50,000 prize offered by William Randolph Hearst for a completed transcontinental trip in 30 days. It took 69 stops, 19 crashes and 49 days, but Rodgers completed his journey. He missed the deadline, but made history by completing the first transcontinental flight.

1913 - Curtiss Marine flying Trophy: Presented by Glenn Curtiss for competition between members of aeronautical clubs in the U.S. piloting seaplanes and flying boats. The trophy and $5,000 award were given annually between 1915 and 1930.

1913 - First commercial airplane service from Tampa to St. Peterburg, Florida in a Benoist flying boat.

June 15, 1919 - Captain John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Whitten Brown won the £10,000 prize offered by the London Daily Mail in 1913 offered £10,000 for the first successful nonstop transatlantic flight (between England and America).

May 22, 1919 - Raymond Orteig, a New York hotel owner, offered $25,000 as a prize for the first aviator to cross the Atlantic from New York to Paris (or the shores of France) or vice versa without a stop. The prize was won by Charles A. Lindbergh on May 21, 1927, who successfully completed the flight in 33 hours and 30 minutes.


1920s -- Return to timeline graphic

1920 - The Pulitzer Trophy: A speed competition for a plaque and cash prizes. 1926 was the last year of the competition - no award was given that year.

March 17 - August 31, 1924 - First around the world airplane flight by the U.S. Army in Douglas World Cruisers.

1925 - The Michelin Cup for Military Pilots: Three military pilots received this award between 1925 and 1928 for flying with standard military equipment, in a closed-circuit course, including 15 landings at the highest hourly rate. Each winner received 30,000 francs and a trophy.

1927 - First successful manned rocket-powered flight by Fritz von Opel in Germany.

May 21, 1927 - First solo airplane crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by Charles Lindbergh.

August 12, 1927 - James Dole offered $25,000 for the first flier and $10,000 for the second flier to cross from the North American continent to Honolulu in a nonstop flight within one year of the announcement of the competition. Art Goebel and his navigator, Lt. Bill Davis came in first, while Martin Jensen and Paul Schulter claimed second.


1930s -- Return to timeline graphic

1931 - The Vincent Bendix Trophy: Established to encourage experimental work in connection with increased speed in the field of aviation, this trophy has been awarded 25 times between 1931 and 1962. Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes were the first women to win the trophy in 1936.


1940s -- Return to timeline graphic

1947 - The Goodyear Trophy: This trophy, a sterling silver tray and $25,000 was given in a speed competition. William Brennand won it first in 1947, and last in 1949. Herman R. Salmon was the only other winner in 1948.

October 14, 1947 - First successful, manned supersonic rocket-powered airplane, the X-1, by Chuck Yeager at Edwards AFT, California.


1950s -- Return to timeline graphic

1955 - The Lockheed Trophy: This award was given every year between 1955 and 1965 for aerobatics.


1960s -- Return to timeline graphic

1960 - The Henry Kremer Prize: On August 23, 1977, The Gossamer Condor, piloted by Bryan Allen, became the first sustained, controlled, human-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel. Dr. Paul MacCready, Jr., who developed the aircraft, won the £50,000 prize which was first offered in 1960, for the historical flight.

April 12, 1961 - First manned orbital space flight by Yuri Gagarin in USSR.

July 17, 1962 - First manned aircraft to reach space, the X-15, by Bob White at Edwards AFB, California

July 20, 1969 - American Neil Armstrong is the first human to set foot on another world, the moon.


1970s -- Return to timeline graphic

May 25, 1975 - First U.S. long-endurance stay in space by Charles Conrad, Jr. aboard Skylab.


1980s -- Return to timeline graphic

April 12, 1981 - First manned aerospace rocket-plane orbits the Earth by John Young and Bob Crippen aboard U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia.

August 30, 1984 - Charles Walker is the first paying passenger in Space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

December 14 - 23, 1986 - First non-stop, unrefueled aircraft circumnavigation of the Earth by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager aboard Voyager at Edwards AFB, California.


1990s -- Return to timeline graphic

August 18, 1993 - First powered vertical launch/vertical landing of a rocket vehicle, the McDonnell Douglas DC-X at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

On May 18, 1996, aviation prizes made the jump to space. On that date, Dr. Peter Diamandis and the X-Prize Space Foundation announced the establishment of the X-Prize, a $10 million cash prize to be awarded to the first private team that develops and safely flies a spacecraft capable of carrying three passengers into suborbital space and back. The craft must make the trip twice within a two week period.

In addition to the X-Prize, the Foundation announced two other awards, including the NEW SPIRIT OF ST. LOUISSM Awards which will be given annually to up to four individuals ($25,000 to each awardee) who have made the greatest contribution to the promotion of space tourism during the past year; and the NEW SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS Cup, which is a biennial competition designed to continue the improvement of space transportation vehicle technology initiated by the first X-PRIZE Competition.


X PRIZESM and NEW SPIRIT OF ST. LOUISSM are service marks of The X PRIZE Foundation, Inc.