In our history many great things have happened. We
have been inventing and exploring things since day one.
Many of these things that we discovered or invented we
thought would never be possible in earth's life time. But they
exists now, today, they are used by almost every human
being and there are many more incredible and unmanageable
things to come and aid us in every day life. One of the most
interesting things to me would fall under exploration and
inventing. You are about to venture in to the history of
space and learn how man and mans objects have gotten
there.
The exploration in space dates back over 40 years ago,
January, 31 of 1958 to be exact. On this date Explorer 1,
which was the first U.S. satellite to be fired in space and its
unknown, to orbit earth. It lifted off from Cape Canaveral
using a modified Jupiter-C rocket called ABMA-JPL. It
carried a scientific experiment of James A. Van Allen, and
discovered the Earth's radiation belt. Along with defeat and
triumph also come disappointment and failure. In March 5
of 1958 Explorer 2 was launched by another Jupiter-C
rocket and failed to reach orbit. October 1, 1958 NASA
was founded, taking over existing National
Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and only ten days later
U.S. - IGY space probe was launched to a incredible height
of 70,700 miles. On March 3 of 1959 Pioneer 4, an
U.S.-IGY space probe is launched by a Juno II rocket, and
achieves an earth-moon trajectory, passing within 37,000
miles of the moon. It then fell into a solar orbit, becoming the
first U.S. sun orbiter. About a year later Tiros 1 was fired
into earth's orbit and became the first successful weather
satellite for the United States. Then on August 18 of the
same year, 1960, Discoverer XIV was launched and
became the first U.S. camera-equipped Corona spy satellite.
On July 14, 1965, They U.S. Mariner 4 returned the first
close-range images of Mars. The above paragraph explains
some of the earliest satellites, spy satellites, and probes that
were sent into space to explore the unknown and the
"Impossible".
May 5 of 1961 Mercury Freedom 7 carried Alan B.
Shepard, Jr., who was the first U.S. astronaut in space, in a
suborbital flight. This United States' first manned space flight
project was successfully accomplished in a 4 2/3 year period
of dynamic activity. During this time they saw more than
2,000,000 people from many major government agencies
and much of the aerospace industry and combined their
skills, initiative, and experience into a national effort. Also
during this 4 and 2/3 period six other manned space flights
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.
These rivalries would become clear when two countries competed in the space race, a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union concerning achievements in the field of space exploration. The Soviet’s took the early lead as they put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch of Sputnik 1 established a sense of fear in the American public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s. This opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations. After World War II, the Cold War created tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States leading to extreme national pride and competition, culminating in the space race which began with the launch of Sputnik 1.
Space travel began in the 1960s with sending humans on single missions into space. Rockets launched into the air and just the tip would land in the ocean after parachuting back to Earth ("Space Shuttle Program," par. 4). The focus of space exploration changed during the 1980s; shifting from the desire for human space flight to the desire to create a reusable spacecraft. Originally called Space Transportation System (STS), NASA created the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) (Heiney, par. 1-2). It wanted a shuttle that was more economical because it could be launched, landed and relaunched and could gather better information. The 1980s began a new era in space exploration and had one the biggest tragedies in the history of space travel.
Project Mercury Project Mercury, the first manned U.S. space project, became an official NASA program on October 7, 1958. The Mercury Program was given two main but broad objectives: 1. to investigate man’s ability to survive and perform in the space environment and 2. to develop basic space technology and hardware for manned space flight programs to come. NASA also had to find astronauts to fly the spacecraft. In 1959 NASA asked the U.S. military for a list of their members who met certain qualifications. All applicants are required to have extensive jet aircraft flight experience and engineering training.
The Americans took a much more urgent approach after seeing what the U.S.S.R. was truly capable of. The United States would respond with various satellites including those of the Explorer Series and more. However, the Soviet Union would again one-up the United States, and all of their now seemingly feeble satellite launches, by putting the first man into outer space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Now the quest gained an even more competitive drive and the United States soon put Alan B. Shepard into space twenty-three days later. The Space Race was truly a trek for the firsts of history, essentially just exterrestrial one-ups throughout an extended period of time. That very same year, John F. Kennedy founded NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, just for that purpose, to explore the world beyond their own, while maintaining the central aim, to beat the Soviets outright. JFK was a leading power in this race, and “by giving NASA programs top priority, his actions essentially played on American fears of communism and implicitly inferred that the Eisenhower administration had not done enough to meet the Sputnik challenge. Too many Americans were beginning to feel a need to vindicate the ‘long-standing communist boast that theirs was the superior system for galvanizing human productivity’” (Koman 43). Winning this space race was way more than just an extraterrestrial victory, it would hopefully squander the communists’ hopes and assert true American dominance. The United States sought to eliminate any presumption of communist superiority and did so in the near future by winning this Cold War space race, thanks to the execution of a truly unimaginable
The Soviets took a lead by launching the first successful satellite into space. On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched the first successful satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I and it successfully entered Earth’s orbit. This first success started the Space Age. The Soviets successful launch shocked the whole world, giving the Soviet Union the respect for putting the first man-made object into outer space. The Americans successfully launched their first satellite four months after Sputnik I, called the Explorer I. The US would have had the first satellite in orbit if they were allowed to use military rockets from the beginning. But, Eisenhower was worried he would be called a warmonger if he used military rockets for launching a satellite into orbit. He told the sci...
There have been many inventions throughout history and some of them have been a lot more helpful than others. The GPS, the Pacemaker, and the cell phone are all very important innovations made to the new world. Without these modern day inventions a lot of thing and the way we interact would be different
The space race was the product of the Cold War. It was an effort to prove technological superiority but on the other hand, it was also feared on both sides that weapons of mass destruction will be placed in orbit. In 1957, the Soviet Union sent the 184 pound Sputnik 1 satellite into Earth’s orbit. It was the first artificial satellite and the first manmade object to be placed into Earth’s orbit. Following that, they also sent the first animal into space, Laika the dog. In 1958, the United Sates also launched their first satellite into orbit, dubbed Explorer 1. The Soviet space program advanced once again in 1959. The Soviet Union launched Luna 2, which was the first space probe to hit the moon. In April 1961, the Soviet Union had the ultimate success, sending the first human into space. The name of the Russian cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin, who made a 108 minute suborbital flight in a Vostok 1 spacecraft. One month after that, Alan Shepard became the American in space aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. Continuing from there, each nation step...
The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States of America for technology on space that happened from 1955-1972. This competition caused many amazing things: The first object in space, the first man in space, and the first man on the moon. The Space Race had started in the Cold War, an Arms’ Race between the U. S and the USSR.
In 1957 the Soviets used a missile to launch a satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around the earth. The arms race then became a space race as the United States rushed to launch its own satellites, some for military purposes.
The Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. It was an aluminum sphere, 58 cm (23 in) in diameter, weighing 83 kg (184 lb). Its orbited around the earth lasted 96.2 minutes. At the end of 57 days the satellite returned to earth's atmosphere and was destroyed by aerodynamic frictional heat.
“Sheltered as we are by Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, which deflect lethal radiation from space, we are like coddled children who have never ventured into a tough neighborhood” (Folger 2). Humans have been fascinated with space since the beginning of our time. Just like children and rough neighborhoods, we have tackled obstacle over obstacle to make it home again. In the end, we have a better knowledge and strength than before. The future of space exploration can assist us in answering the everlasting question of how the universe came to be. The more we explore the infinite galaxies, the more we can scientifically discover and create new technologies as science advances. As we continue to discover, we can create new fields and occupations for aspiring young students like myself.
The end of Second World War brought one of the most significant periods in human history. The world was filled with excitement about the new ideas and a zeal to turn those ideas into reality. Most of the countries were experiencing prosperity through high economic growth, financial stability, and a baby boom. Colonialism was diminishing with each passing day as colonies were becoming independent with Asian countries leading the torch of freedom. However, peace is by nature short-lived; the bonds between the Soviet Union and the United States of America bound by the imminent danger from the Nazi regime, started weakening again and the two champions of the war now started seeing each other as adversaries
The origins of the space race can be traced back to the 1930s and the 2 World War. Back then Germany was the leading power, when it came to rocket- and missile technology. When Germany lost the 2 World War, USA and the Soviet Union got their hands on some phenomenal German scientist and really advanced rocket technology. Germany was more innovative in their rocket science, so USA and the Soviet Union were very happy to get the very much needed information. USA captured one of the best rocket scientist in world, Wernher Von Braun. T...
The modern day space environment is no longer a mystery to humans. Yuri Gagarin of Russia was the first person to experience space adventure in 1961. Since then, technological advances have enabled space exploration, with new discoveries being made from time to time. Scientists have significantly contributed to the development of space tourism. Noteworthy inventions by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have transformed human life through increasing accessibility to space. The agency has made it possible for astronauts to go to the moon and also to walk around planet Mars with robotic automobiles. The invention of the tri-axis control design has had a significant influence on modern space explorations, helping astronauts to effectively focus their satellites on the target. This has been important in increasing efficiency and precision in astronomical discoveries (Birchard, 2003).