Dreams of exploring regions of the cosmos have been a vision for hundreds of years. The twentieth century signaled a shift from dreams to reality. By World War II, Germany’s “rocket would grow from an experimental plaything to a weapon of war” (Sparrow 11). Following the war, global superpowers, the United States and the U.S.S.R, raced to develop advantages over each other using discovered German rocket research. In turn, the events ignited the United States’ efforts toward space. Space travel progressed to suborbital flight and the moon landing in the 1960s, but spaceflight developments now stand at a halt as failures and costly disasters leave the space shuttle in the past. Private corporations want to embark on the journey of space, venturing …show more content…
Spaceflight has an effect on the pride of many Americans. A new direction of the United States’ space program toward privatization might affect national pride because the United States would not have a national space-exploration effort. Instead, multiple private corporations would advance that national effort. Margaret Lazarus Dean and Robert Polito note:
[ . . . ] as long as spaceflight is run by a government agency, any American child can reasonably dream of flying in space one day. For many of them, that dream will shape their early lives in important and beneficial ways. If spaceflight belongs to private corporations, space travel will be a privilege of the incredibly wealthy, and space obsessed children will have no particular motivation to do their algebra homework or serve in the military, knowing that their only hope of earning a seat lies in getting rich.
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Most space-junk burns away in low-orbit from reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, but a problem arises with trapped debris, stuck because of no pulls of gravity. Miscellaneous items such as retired satellites, parts of rockets, and items such as loose bolts, blankets, and equipment dropped by space travelers on previous voyages collect above the orbit at a rapid pace. According to Steve Olsen, the debris is continually accumulating in addition to “about 4,000 space launches” (20) by the United States and Russia alone. The launches have left a large trail of space-junk. The impact from striking space-junk could cause tragic disasters and serious damage to spacecrafts. While the addition of launches only adds to such possible tragedies (20), private space companies are making an effort to clean up after themselves. The private corporations Spacex and Airbus are working on the Remove-Debris mission to remove space junk. Additionally, the corporation’s mission includes a plan “to start maturing and developing the technologies so in the future we can use them for this important application” (Forshaw and Flag). Technologies include tether devices that would drag space-junk into orbit for the atmosphere to burn it (“How”). In turn, this benefit enables prevention and safety for future space travel and exploration in private
The space race that originally begun with the launch of Sputnik in 1957 had come to an effective end. During the Space Race there was heavy competition between the countries. Even with a strong lead, The Soviets had taken heavy loss to competition after they had made four failed attempts to launch a lunar landing craft between 1969 and 1972, including a spectacular launch-pad explosion in July 1969. From beginning to end, the American public’s attention was captivated by the space race, and the various developments of technology by the Soviet and U.S. space programs. The Space had drawn national and international attention.
October 4, 1957: The Russia launched Sputnik into space. Thus began the seemingly-eternal battle for control of space exploration. Who would get the first man into space; to the Moon, to Mars? Everything that could be done by either country was being done to give the edge. It soon became obvious to all that neither country was going to back down from the challenge. However, a lot has changed since 1957, governments have slumped, privatized exploration has taken charge. . . what happened? Where is space exploration going? Where is the human race, today?
Since the historical launch of the first successful artificial satellite Sputnik on October 4th 1957 humanity has launched thousands of satellites into orbit above Earth. The prodigious use of Earth’s orbit has resulted in an important consequence, space debris. While currently most space debris does not pose a serious threat to Earth or operating space technology the planned increase of satellite launches as well as the continued accumulation of debris from current satellites will necessitate drastic action in order to ensure that Earth orbit technology remains viable. The ability of space debris to hinder further space exploration and travel is also a necessary obstacle to overcome in order for future investment in space technologies by global governments and private industries. Finally the valuable nature of components used in satellites, chiefly gold but also including other metals creates an important economic incentive for the reclamation and recycling of components found within the atmosphere. These factors lead to the logical conclusion that by the year 2025 a space debris reclamation project must begin in order to ensure the continuing advancement of current communication, navigation, defense, and scientific technologies.
A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title of the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds, which can be found in our space. The most deadly of those threats: asteroids. Don Yeoman, an employee at the Jet Propulsion Lab, a NASA facility, tracks over 600,000 asteroids every day.
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
"Space Debris and Human Spacecraft." NASA. NASA, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .
In order to avoid being hit by space debris, scientists developed the collision avoidance technique. They are also looking for ways to remove the debris from Earth's orbit. Most importantly, tracking these objects is key to solving all the problems. The amount of space junk accumulates daily due to the high volume of junk-to-junk collisions.
NASA’s research and innovation looked promising, but it came at a cost. Money, resources, and spacecraft accidents, most famously Apollo 13 all hindered NASA’s research. In the 21st century, the debate over funding for NASA is at its peak since the birth of the organization in 1958, especially when there are numerous problems throughout the world. Is the money spent on space exploration worth the advantages and advances it contributes to society? When considering this topic, one might ask themselves, why explore space?
Detractors of public sector space agencies like NASA frequently argue that expending money and resources on sending humans into space is wasteful and irresponsible during shaky economic times. After all, in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau in recorded 46.2 million people in poverty, the largest number in the 52 years the figure has been published. Putting tax dollars into a shuttle and sending it on an extraplanetary voyage is uneconomical in the eyes of many. However, beneficial developments of the space program can be found in airports, hospitals, laboratories, and homes around the world. Foam created for protecting the outside of a shuttle passing through the harsh atmosphere has found use as a durable, light-weight molding material for artificial limbs. Research and development for NASA'S programs has parented a network of hundreds of communication satellites used around the world on a daily basis and monitored by NASA. Robotic arms used for repairs, maintenance, and hazardous labor in sp...
In America, space travel is a controversial issue that many discuss. Although exciting, some people find it unnecessary and a waste of money. There are also many risks associated with space travel and many issues are more important than space travel that should be focused on. There are ethical, diplomatic, and economic issues that need to be considered before making decisions about space exploration.
By the third millennium, mankind is actively studying and exploring space. The number of space flights is increasing and they are constantly running into a number of problems. One of these is a question of the increasing contamination of space with objects from our explorations. These objects are better known as space debris or simply said – space junk. Space debris is man-made objects in Earth’s orbit or objects that reenter the atmosphere, including parts that have finished their active existence and are no longer useful.
An Astronomy topic that has always been intriguing is space travel. The ability to rocket into space, look down on Earth, and “…explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before” (IMDB) is an adventure that people dream of experiencing. On July 20, 1969, an estimated six million people watched Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the Moon (Nixon Library). Presently, people are paying Virgin Galactic $250,000 to reserve a seat on a spaceship that is expected to tour suborbital space in the near future (Virgin Galactic). Although space travel continues to be of interest, there is also some controversy. Controversies include: the allocation of government resources for space exploration, government verses commercial spacecrafts, and the need to colonize other planets for the survival of humanity. The intrigue and the controversy of space travel are the reasons for this Astronomy conversation.
Space debris is the collection of useless objects in orbit around Earth. It includes all from erosion, spent rocket stages, old satellites, collisions, and fragments from disintegration. A large number of technical studies are currently developing concepts of active removal of space debris to protect space assets from on orbit collision. Since orbits overlap with new spacecraft therefore debris may collide with operational spacecraft.
Did you know that without space exploration we wouldn’t have a lot of our knowledge or technology? I always wanted to help make a rocket fly one day, or be apart of space a corporation.
“Why should we go into space? What is the justification for spending all the effort and money on getting a few lumps of moon rocks? Aren’t there better causes here on Earth?”- Stephen Hawking. Space is the everlasting, ever growing place where we happen to reside. From the beginning of intelligent life here on Earth, we have wanted to learn. Whether it be simply constructing a fire, or solving the riddles that still puzzle us to this day. Many of the questions we still have are pertaining to space. Are we alone? How did we get here? Where are we going? Many answers can come from exploring space. Getting a “few lumps of moon rock” can answer so many questions we asked ourselves for millennia. Can we truly belong in a place we do not know about? Space exploration will better us now and in the future for several reasons.