1.   Earlier this year, Ulysses became the first man-made spacecraft to orbit below the south pole of the sun.

2.   It was the first spacecraft to travel beyond Mars and the first to traverse the Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

3.   It is the first spacecraft to orbit one of the enormous outer planets, which are primarily spheres of turbulent gases.

4.   It would also be the first spacecraft to rely on solar electric propulsion for its main source of thrust, instead of conventional solid or liquid propellants.

5.   It would be the first spacecraft to orbit one of the giant outer planets for a long-term campaign of photography and detailed observations.

6.   It will flare to visibility Thursday night, becoming the first interplanetary spacecraft visible to the naked eye, other than at launch.

7.   The first spacecraft to probe Mars ended up shattering ages of myths and delusions.

8.   The first spacecraft to land on an asteroid got a reprieve from a scheduled communications shutdown Wednesday and will stay in contact with Earth a little longer.

9.   The occasion was the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon.

10.   If successful, NEAR will become the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.