Well, they didn't have to worry about the 1.8K bug, for one thing.
2 Jan. 1959 - Luna I is launched. According to
this site, it was the first satellite to reach the vicinity of the moon
and orbit the sun. I'm not sure how any of the others had managed not to orbit the sun before. I suppose we'll just have to call it a 'frame of reference' shift.
Also...
2 Jan. 1860 - Urbain le Verrier announced the discovery of the planet Vulcan, paving the way for 1st contact and the foundation of the United Federation of Planets.