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An essay about the international space station
An essay about the international space station
An essay about the international space station
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“I think both the space shuttle program and the International Space Station program have not really lived up to their expectations.” These words by Buzz Aldrin are in my opinion why we should never give up on what we are trying to achieve. That is because once you put your mind on achieving one goal, you must achieve it and make this goal exceed you expectations. What is a space shuttle? The Space Shuttle is a reusable launch and reentry American spacecraft operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for orbital human spaceflight missions. It is a part of the Space Transportation System (STS) and is one of the most talked about aircrafts. What do we use the space shuttle for? Well, the shuttle, a manned, multipurpose, space plane is …show more content…
There are two types of space shuttles. The first type includes space shuttles that are air-worthy. An example of an airworthy space shuttle is Enterprise, which was used for a series of flying and landing approach tests to see how well the shuttle maneuvered during the landing. The other type of space shuttles are the space worthy which include the space shuttle Discovery, Challenger, Atlantis, Endeavour, and Columbia which had many missions. Some of the major mission consisted of launching multiple satellites and interplanetary objects, conducting space science experiments, and the construction of space stations.
The space shuttle was made of three main components. First is the Orbiter, which is considered to be the brain of the Space Transportation system. It contains
"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.
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.
It took NASA a couple years to resume its flight to orbit. The catastrophe of the space shuttle challenger shook them up and have rethink their procedures and methods of operation. NASA, improve or I should say worked on developing its shuttle management structure, its shuttle safety panel, critical review and hazard policy, communication, safety organization and many more.
The word race is defined at its core as a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, boats, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course. Well, interestingly enough, a race of a different kind occurred between two countries from the years 1957 to 1969. The competition was unclear, and the opponents were on two entirely different continents, not something as simplistic as two horses. The United States and the United Soviet States of Russia both set out as arch rivals in the “Space Race,” a quest for dominance beyond the known Planet Earth. Ironically enough, just as communism was spreading to all parts of the world, the United States always sought to squash this form of government, despite somewhat dire consequences. Now, with
In the mid-1980’s, the shuttle space program was the focus of the political media since it had failed to deliver on its exp...
It was a freezing morning on January 28, 1986. Many spectators were waiting anxiously to witness the liftoff of the Challenger space shuttle’s 25th mission. These spectators included thousands of students because Christa McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space. Tragically, only 73 seconds after liftoff, the Challenger split apart resulting in the death of all 7 members on board. There is evidence that NASA was aware of issues that could have potentially complicated the scheduled liftoff, but NASA fatally decided to proceed with the mission. Because of NASA’s negligence and the loss of 7 lives, the Challenger mission of January 1986 was one of the greatest failures of NASA.
NASA introduced to the world, in 1976, the first reusable manned spacecraft. This became known as the space shuttle. Five years later, in 1981, space flights began with Columbia. Columbia ascended into space for a 54 hour orbiting mission. Later, it descended back to earth, as if it was a regular airplane that just took passengers from Boston to Detroit. Columbia only had two crewmembers, Commander John Young and Pilot Bob Crippen. Columbia completed 27 missions before disintegrating in the descent of its 28th mission in 2003. Challenger was NASA’s second space shuttle. Its first mission was April 4, 1983. Challenger made nine journeys into space, before that tragic January day.
During the age of space exploration, many new types of technology were created and introduced for public usage based on technology used for space exploration related research. These types of technology include artificial limbs, anti-icing systems for planes, firefighter gear, enriched baby food, and portable cordless vacuums4. These forms of technology became popular due to how useful they were and became essential parts of people's lives across the world. Another way that space exploration influenced social change was is how it created unity amongst the world. Events such as the moon landing in 1969, the first American women astronaut by the name of Sally Ride being launched into space in 1981, or even the tragic event that happened in 1986 where Challenger burned up and killed all crew members on board in a mere 73 seconds after lift off inspired the entire world to put aside their differences and unite together in order to fully appreciate the accomplishments and advances in technology and information that had been being made rapidly right before their very eyes5, 6. Space exploration led to many new discoveries about the world around us and outside our reach, and led to the creation of many new forms of technologies that are now essential parts of our lives, thus having a major impact on social change both during the past and in the
The aerospace industry is fairly new in our day in age. It has been recorded in history that the first flight ever by man took place in Kitty Hawk, NC roughly 100 years ago. Since that first model, drastic improvements have been made in aerospace technology. Aerospace has evolved from simple prop planes to sound barrier breaking jets and even to space shuttles. The very definition of aerospace in the adjective or active form is “of or relating to aerospace, to vehicles used in aerospace or the manufacture of such vehicles, or to travel in aerospace.” In general, aerospace deals with any dynamic manufactured vehicle that travels above the surface of the earth. This, as you might expect, leaves two possibilities, the atmosphere or our earth, and outer space. Such basic examples of aerospace vehicles are Cessna planes, Black Hawk helicopters, Goodyear blimps and the Columbia Space Shuttle. Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, aerospace has and will continue to be an integrated part of our society.
The final agreed design would feature a reusable spaceplane, a disposable external tank and reusable solid-fuel rocket boosters. The ALT-12 mission was a success by being the first free flight of the space shuttle enterprise.The whole purpose of this mission was just to test the boundaries and flaws that the space shuttle had
Colonizing Mars, it seems like a distant achievement. Some say impossible, some say it will happen soon. Since Elon Musk has entered this field of exploration colonization of Mars has seemed even more plausible. Still, problems have surfaced to make this much more difficult than it has to be. This makes some believe this to be impossible or unlikely for the time. Despite what side you are on we can both agree that we want to advance in space exploration.
The materials to build a shuttle must be top tier materials. Every time a shuttle launches, some parts are damaged beyond repair and must be replaced. Fuel for a shuttle is also expensive. People must be paid to build the ship and must be paid to work ground control. These expenses, along with others, begin to add up quickly. NASA reported that their average launch costs $450 million (2015, Bray). These funds are being used to do scientific research to help society. Spending that much money just to see space seems ludicrous. However, as Greenberg points out in his cartoon, money has power. A study was done in 1980 to see how many were interested in space tourism. This study found that “over 40 million people would like to take a trip on a space shuttle, and some 55 million would like to take a cruise ship-like space trip” (2015, Chang). In 1994 it was projected that space tourism could bring in about $50 million annually (2015, Chang). Comparing $450 million to the projected intake of $50 million shows just how expensive it would be. $50 million is a large price tag for a suborbital
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...
The 1960's brought new advancements for all of Earth. Machines and men were sent into space, and this sparked a new government agency, called NASA. Space was a new frontier, and virtually everyone was interested in exploring it. Over the years, the interest in space exploration has weakened, and NASA was almost terminated from existence, although there have been many advancements in it over that time. Space exploration should continue because it could help solve many problems on Earth, such as overpopulation and lack of resources. Exploration of the final frontier must continue in order for human life to continue.
Relating to the Audience: I believe that the Space Shuttle program has fascinated most if not all of you at some point of time, so much so that it has driven some of us to pursue Aerospace Engineering. Thus, it is a good idea to explore the program’s end result, the reason why it was started in the first place – To build the International Space Station.