| A TIMELINE OF ROCKETSHIP CINEMA | |||
| REAL WORLD EVENTS | YEAR | SF CINEMA EVENTS | |
| Tsiolkovsky publishes EXPLORING SPACE WITH DEVICES, discussing applications of liquid propellants | 1902 | Méliès LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE (A Trip to the Moon) | |
| Wright Brothers' first flight, Kitty Hawk, NC | 1903 | ||
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| Robert Goddard determines that liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen would make a viable fuel source | 1909 | ||
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| Goddard receives patents for numerous rocket innovations | 1914 | ||
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| Herman Oberth publishes DIE RAKETE ZU DEN PLANETRAUMEN (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space) | 1923 | AELITA, QUEEN OF MARS | |
| Central Committee for the Study of Rocket Propulsion is established in USSR | 1924 | ||
| 1925 | |||
| Goddard tests the first successful liquid-fueled rocket | 1926 | METROPOLIS | |
| German rocket enthusiasts form the Society for Space Travel. Herman Oberth is an early member. | 1927 | ||
| Oberth acts as consultant to Fritz Lang's film FRAU IM MOND (Woman in the Moon) | 1928 | ||
| 1929 | Fritz Lang's film invents the countdown in FRAU IM MOND (Woman in the Moon) | ||
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| 1930 | JUST IMAGINE, the first (and last) science-fiction art deco musical | ||
| 1931 | |||
| Werner Von Braun and colleagues demonstrate working rockets to the German Army | 1932 | ||
| Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany | 1933 | ||
| 1934 | |||
| Robert Goddard's latest rocket breaks the sound barrier | 1935 | ||
| 1936 | FLASH
GORDON, a 13-part serial based on the newspaper strip, premieres in
theaters.
THINGS TO COME opens, with a script by HG Wells |
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| 1937 | |||
| 1938 | FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS | ||
| War begins in Europe | 1939 | BUCK ROGERS premieres as a 12-part serial | |
| 1940 | FLASH
GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE in 12 exciting chapters!
DOCTOR CYCLOPS, the first major SF film in color |
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| Pearl Harbor - US enters World War II | 1941 | ||
| 1942 | |||
| 1943 | |||
| Hitler's V-2 rockets begin dropping their explosives on England. Stock footage of these rockets would fill in for special effects footage in countless 50s SF movies. | 1944 | ||
| The age of nuclear power begins. | 1945 | ||
| 1946 | |||
| 1947 | |||
| 1948 | CAPTAIN VIDEO premieres on the Dumont TV Network. | ||
| 1949 | KING OF THE ROCKETMEN, the first Commando Cody serial | ||
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| 1950 | DESTINATION
MOON ROCKETSHIP X-M SPACE PATROL premieres on
ABC TV |
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| 1951 | FLIGHT
TO MARS THE THING (From Another World) CAPTAIN VIDEO (15 chapter serial) THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS (12 chapters) THE MAN FROM PLANET X WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE |
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| 1952 | Commando
Cody returns in RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (12 chapters) and again in ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE (12 chapters) |
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| 1953 | ABBOTT
AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON INVADERS FROM MARS IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE PHANTOM FROM SPACE PROJECT MOONBASE ROBOT MONSTER SPACEWAYS WAR OF THE WORLDS THE LOST PLANET (15 chapters), one of the last serials |
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| 1954 | DEVIL
GIRL FROM MARS GOJIRA (GODZILLA) premieres in Japan KILLERS FROM SPACE RIDERS TO THE STARS |
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| President Eisenhower approves development of orbiting satellites, The USSR quickly makes a similar announcement | 1955 | CONQUEST
OF SPACE KING DINOSAUR THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT THIS ISLAND EARTH The TV 'Space Craze' dies out with the cancellation of TOM CORBETT, SPACE PATROL, and many others... |
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| 1956 | FORBIDDEN
PLANET EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS FIRE MAIDENS FROM OUTER SPACE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS IT CONQUERED THE WORLD NOT OF THIS EARTH PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE SATELLITE IN THE SKY WORLD WITHOUT END |
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| OCTOBER
4: Sputnik 1 orbits the Earth
NOVEMBER 3: Sputnik 2 orbits Laika, a dog |
1957 | INVASION
OF THE SAUCERMEN KRONOS QUATERMASS II 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH |
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| First
American satellite, Explorer
NASA founded by act of Congress |
1958 | THE
BLOB BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE MISSILE TO THE MOON QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE SPACE MASTER X-7 THE CRAWLING EYE WAR OF THE SATELLITES |
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| Russians probe near moon with Luna 1 | 1959 | FIRST
MAN INTO SPACE TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE |
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| First communication satellite Echo 1 | 1960 | THE
ANGRY RED PLANET THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS (Der Schweigende Stern) THE TIME MACHINE 12 TO THE MOON VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET |
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| Yuri
Gagarin becomes the first human in outer space
Sub-orbital flight by American Alan Shepard |
1961 | JOURNEY
TO THE SEVENTH PLANET THE PHANTOM PLANET BATTLE OF THE WORLDS |
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| John Glenn orbits the Earth | 1962 | INVASION
OF THE STAR CREATURES MOON PILOT THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT |
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| 1963 | BATTLE
BEYOND THE SUN THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS MOUSE ON THE MOON |
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| 1964 | THE
CREEPING TERROR FIRST MEN IN THE MOON ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS |
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| First 'spacewalk'
by Cosmonaut Leonov, USSR
First 'space-docking' procedure, Gemini 6 & 7 |
1965 | PLANET
OF THE VAMPIRES DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET LOST IN SPACE premieres on CBS |
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| Probe Luna 9 (USSR) soft lands on the Moon | 1966 | DALEKS-INVASION
EARTH 2150 AD 2+5 MISSION HYDRA FAHRENHEIT 451 FANTASTIC VOYAGE MARS NEEDS WOMEN QUEEN OF BLOOD VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF PREHISTORIC WOMEN WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET WAY...WAY OUT ZONTAR, THING FROM VENUS STAR TREK premieres on NBC |
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| Astronauts White, Grissom, and Chaffee are killed on the launchpad inside their Apollo 1 capsule when fire breaks out. | 1967 | BARBARELLA JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF TIME Jules Verne's ROCKET TO THE MOON QUATERMASS AND THE PIT THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE |
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| Apollo 8 orbits the moon and returns to the Earth | 1968 | ASTRO-ZOMBIES COUNTDOWN MISSION MARS PLANET OF THE APES 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY |
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| Apollo 11 lands on the Moon, July 21 | 1969 | BENEATH
THE PLANET OF THE APES JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN MAROONED STAR TREK is cancelled by NBC |
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| Apollo 13 has an on-board explosion on the way to the moon--emergency action returns the 3-man crew safely to Earth | 1970 | THE
ANDROMEDA STRAIN THX 1138 |
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| 1971 | A
CLOCKWORK ORANGE EARTH II ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS THE OMEGA MAN SILENT RUNNING SOLARIS |
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| Last manned landing on the Moon, Apollo 17. | 1972 | CONQUEST
OF THE PLANET OF THE APES SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE |
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| Skylab, an orbiting space station made from a rocket booster, is launched. | 1973 | BATTLE
FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES SLEEPER SOYLENT GREEN WESTWORLD ZARDOZ |
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| 1974 | DARK
STAR FLESH GORDON TERMINAL MAN WHO? |
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| 1975 | A
BOY AND HIS DOG DEATH RACE 2000 ROLLERBALL SPACE:1999 premieres |
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| Viking probes land on Mars | 1976 | AT
THE EARTH'S CORE FUTUREWORLD LOGAN'S RUN THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH |
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| 1977 |
CAPRICORN ONE STAR WARS is released, beginning the modern era of space cinema |
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