THe History of Space Exploration

659 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Space exploration past and present

Space Exploration
You might think the US first started space exploration or even having the first man in space. Well that is incorrect. What really happened was on October 4, 1957 USSR launched the first ever space probe in space called, Sputnik 1. About a month later USSR launched up Sputnik 2 which carried a small dog, named Laika.
Then on January 31, 1958, the US launched Explorer 1. It carried scientific instruments that discovered the Van Allen radiation belt. On March 2, Explorer 2 is launched but failed to reach orbit. On May 15, Sputnik 3 is launched. Then on October 1, NASA in founded. It replaced the former space center NACA. Just twelve short days later the first Pioneer (1) was launched to a height of 70,700 miles.
The next year on January 2, 1959, the USSR sent up Luna 1, the first man-made object to orbit the Sun. Then on March 3, the US sent up Pioneer 4 in hopes of reaching the moon, but it fell into solar orbit. Then on September 12, USSR launched Luna 2 which landed on the moon and as the first man-made object to do so. On October 4, USSR sent Luna 3 into space and photographed 70% of the Moon’s surface.
On April 1, 1960, the US launch Tiros 1, which is the first successful weather satellite. On August 18, the US launched its first camera equipped spy satellite, Discoverer XIV. Then on November 8, John F. Kennedy, one of the most important presidents on space exploration, was elected.
Then on April 12, 1961, an USSR astronaut Yuri Gagarin, orbits the Earth and becomes the first man in space. Just a month later, on May 5, earth sent their first astronaut, Alan B. Shepard, into space. On May 25, the president decided to address congress and challenge the nation to make the first man to land on the moon. Then o...

... middle of paper ...

...il Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men ever to walk on the moon.

I’ve talked a lot about NASA. NASA is actually an acronym of National Aeronautics and Space Administration that was created in 1958. NASA is the successor of the former space group, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). NASA has done some of the most notable pace explorations of the 20th century. Notable ones are Pioneers, 10 and 11. Other ones are Voyager, MWAP, Spitzer, Spirit and Opportunity, Chandra, Viking, Hubble, and probably the most important, the Apollo Missions. Also the International Space Station was a big part of NASA.

Project Mercury was big for NASA. Project Mercury was NASA’s first human spaceflight program. The program was to see if people could function for minutes at a time. Eventually they would progress so that people could stay in space for days.

Show More
Related

  • NASA Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ause it was the mission that NASA was able to put the first man up onto the moon. Neil Armstrong was the pilot of the Apollo 11 flight. There was a special shuttle that was attached to the spaceship; it was called the Eagle. The Eagle was designed to transport some crew members down to the moon. Armstrong was responsible for driving and landing the shuttle safely down to the moon. While on his way down to the moon, Armstrong realized that he was starting to run out of fuel. Thankfully, Armstrong did have enough to land on the moon and make it back up to the spaceship. When the Eagle was leaving the spaceship for the first time up in space, it wasn't completely depressurized so there was something like a gas bubble come from the shuttle as it was on its way to the moon. The gas bubble moved the shuttle off course and the Eagle actually landed four miles off course.

    Read More

  • Sputnik's Effects

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Project Mercury

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Space Race In The United States

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Space Race

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Differences And Similarities Between 1950 And 2000

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Moving on to the 60’s and forward the space program expanded greatly. According to Areospace.com, “The first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, went into orbit on January 31, 1958” (Areospace.com). Advancements continued onward. As stated by Areospace.com, “In 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into space. On February 20, 1962, John Glenn’s historic flight made him the first American to orbit Earth” (Areospace.com). The spacecraft technology continued to evolve to today’s astronauts who can more easily transverse the atmosphere’s barrier and make it to space now. Moreover, medical develops like the pacemaker, invented in 1959, has been perfected or discovered along with other medical inventions like: the polio vaccine, the open heart surgery, the discovery of DNA, the first organ transplant, the contraceptive pill, and so

    Read More

  • The History And Impact Of The Space Race

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    On May 25, 1961, just two weeks after the US had successfully got an American into space, John F. Kennedy gave a speech addressing it and exclaimed, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish..." (Kruse). The Space Race became an important event for all of humanity during the 20th century because it improved our knowledge of space, improved and inspired new technology, and improved our education. It sparked a mix of both friendly and non friendly competition between the Capitalist United States and the Communist Russia (USSR) from the launch of Sputnik in 1957, all the way to the Apollo-Soyuz project that ended the race in 1975 .

    Read More

  • Space Race in the 1960's

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Early on in the race, the USSR was very successful. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, which triggered the start of the space race (John F. Kennedy). The United States began to scramble, trying to catch up with the Soviets. However, soon after, the Soviet Union completed another huge success. They sent the first man to orbit Earth (John F. Kennedy). In 1961 the USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever orbit the Earth (John F. Kennedy). The United States was still unsuccessful and beginning to look weak. After that, America got serious. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy asked Congress for around eight billion dollars to build up the space program over the next five years (John F. Kennedy). The president declared, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” (John F. Kennedy).

    Read More

  • Apollo 11: The Greatest Achievement in Human History

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    “On July 16, 1969 the world watched in anticipation as three men were hurtled skyward in a rocket bound for the moon.” (news.nationalgeographic.com). This was the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first successful manned mission to the moon. This mission was the product of the space race (race to see who would go into outer space first, against the Soviet Union). This goal was set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 and he promised that we would be the first to step on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo 11 mission is often cited as the greatest achievement in human history. (news.nationalgeographic.com)

    Read More

  • Iron Curtain Essay

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Space Exploration

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1958 a group known as The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded. The first probe to escape Earth's gravity was the Soviet LUNA 1, launched on Jan. 2, 1959. It passed the Moon and continued into interplanetary space. The U.S. probe Pioneer 4, launched two months later, followed the same path. Later Soviet probes either hit the Moon or passed it and took photographs of the hidden far side, relaying them back to Earth.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Space Race

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War pushed many American companies to new limits, to prove that the U.S. was far superior to the U.S.S.R. The Space Race had produced new companies, new technological advances in space and brought national pride. On July 29, 1958 congress had established the “National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a federal agency dedicated to space exploration” (History 1). NASA was the first space program created by the United States NASA was able to help the U.S. expand technology to new areas, such as creating the satellite, which is a well-used piece of machinery that is used. The first satellite ever launched by the U.S. was Tiros 1. Tiros 1 was Cylinder like machine that was able to take photos of earth from space and transmit them back to earth. Satellites today are used for telephone communication, T.V. channels and our every weather report. The space race “was seen as the next frontier”(History 1). The Space Race had inspired car designers in new designs, inspired easy flying transportation, and effect the c...

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Space Exploration

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mankind has always been fascinated with exploring the unknown. From sailing to distant lands to someday setting foot on other planets, the spirit of exploration is the same. Bur now with the current economic situation and the high cost of sending people to space, NASA is being looked at as a way to free up some much needed funds. Although, there is many problems here on planet Earth that need addressing, the benefits of space exploration far out weight the disadvantages. Space exploration has given us more advanced technology, advances in the medical field, and a boost to the economy and these facts cannot be disputed.

    Read More

  • The Space Race and NASA

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    On October 4th, 1957, history was made when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite. The Sputnik I was only the size of a beach ball, it only weighed 183.9 lbs., and it was the marker for the “space race” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It was a huge technological achievement that caught the world’s attention and wound up making Americans disappointed that the U.S. did not send the first satellite into space. U.S. citizens were also concerned that if the Soviet Union could send satellites into space then they could posses the power to send ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons. Then, the Soviets raised the bar by sending Laika, the first living thing in space with a much heavier payload on November 3rd. Laika, meaning “barker” in Russian, was a stray mutt that was only three years old when she went to space. Laika was sent to space in a restrictive spacecraft that only had enough room...

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Space Exploration

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    By being in a very technologically advanced era, scientists can invent revolutionary devices never thought of. NASA is doing that right now and has been doing that since it began. They are not only climbing the stairs in space exploration but in the medical industry, too. Nevertheless, they are forever changing millions of lives by using all they have discovered. Most of all, they are teaching people a life lesson, to always use the things you have for the greater good. NASA has achieved profound success ever since their start in 1958 and they will continue to make discovery and innovation their first and foremost goal for years to come.

    Read More

More about THe History of Space Exploration

Open Document