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Space Exploration
Satellites provide us with information about the Earth, such as identifying weather
patterns, or surveillance of what dangerous countries might be doing with nuclear
weapons. They also improve global communication through satellite link ups to
enhance world news coverage. Ship and aeroplane on board navigation systems relies
on satellites as well as modern GPS systems fitted to cars or mobile phones. Space
travel has allowed us to set up the Hubble telescope to explore beyond our solar
system. Machines have conducted experiments on other planets to identify whether
life has or could ever exist there. The two voyager Rockets are currently leaving our
solar system after photographing the outer planets and enhancing our knowledge of
those planets.
History
The Second World War accelerated the development of rockets. The Germans
invented the V2 rockets so that they could fire them at Britain. The USA bought some
of these rockets for scientific research into vertical flights.
In October 1957 the USSR launched the first rocket (Sputnik 1) into space. This was
the genesis of the space age and the competition between the USSR and the USA.
Picture 1: Sputnik 1
November 3rd 1957- Laika the dog was sent into space onboard Sputnik 2. The dog
died from overheating and panic a few hours after take off.
In January 1958 the USA launched Explorer 1 and in October of the same year the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) was established.
26th October 1958- Luna 3 takes pictures of the dark side of the moon. They
controversially named features like the Sea of Moscow and the Sea of Dreams.
As a result naming in space is given to the International Astronomical Union.
13th December 1958- Gordo, a squirrel monkey was sent into space by the USA, but
the cone of the Jupiter rocket carrying the monkey crashed into the South Atlantic and
Gordo was never recovered. He had survived the journey.
28th May 1959- Able and Baker were sent into space by the USA. They were fired
300 miles into space and returned after 15 minutes having survived. Able died after
receiving anaesthesia to remove his electrodes. Baker survived until 1984.
Able being strapped in for his flight
12th April 1961- Yuri Gargarin becomes the first man in space travelling on board the
Vostock. He became an international icon and was subsequently banned from other
missions. He eventually died in a plane crash in 1968 in suspicious circumstances.
5th May 1961- Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. In 1971 he picked
himself to go on Apollo 14 and played golf on the moon.
6th August 1961- Major Titov spent 25 hours in space. Later he was elected into the
Duma, but died in a sauna in 2000, some say from Carbon Monoxide poisoning,
others from a heart attack.
20th February 1962- John Glenn becomes the first person to orbit the Earth. In 1998
he became the oldest astronaut when he went into space at the age of 77
26th April 1962- Ranger IV rocket lands on the moon, but fails to send back pictures
December 1962- Mariner 2 photographs Venus
1963- Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
Ed White performs the first American space walk outside Gemini 4
1965- Leonov becomes the first man to do a space walk
24th March 1965- Ranger 9 successfully photographs the moon before crashing into it
3rd February 1966- Luna 9 lands on the moon using retro rockets to slow its speed
from 6,000mph to 6mph. The probe sent back 9 photos of the moon.
2nd June 1966- Surveyor 1 becomes the first US probe on the moon
27th January 1967- Apollo 1 caught fire on the launch pad
18th October 1967- Venera 4 probes Venus and determines its temperature to be over
480ºCelcius, but the signal was lost at 15 miles above the surface.
19th October 1967- Mariner V led NASA scientists to describe Venus as a “hell hole”.
It showed the atmosphere to be mostly Carbon Dioxide causing a greenhouse effect.
24th December 1968- Apollo 8 orbits the moon. James Lovell (part of this team)
would later command Apollo 13.
21st July 1969- Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon using the
infamous line
‘That’s one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind’
The Saturn V rocket was used to get out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Michael Collins
never left the Apollo, Buzz Aldrin and Armstrong went on the Eagle probe and then
walked on the moon for 2 ½ hours. They returned to Earth on the Columbia. When
they returned to Earth they were quarantined for 21 days in case they might have
brought back some sort of Alien organism.
The Saturn V Rocket with Apollo 11
Apollo 11
Buzz Aldrin
19th November 1969- Apollo 12 takes Pete Conrad and Alan Bean to the moon. They
retrieved parts of the Surveyor 3 probe sent up in 1967.
14th April 1970- Apollo 13 suffered an explosion in its fuel cells 56 hours after take
off. The result was that there was no power leading to Oxygen and water levels
dropping. The astronauts on board (James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise) used
the battery of the lunar module (Aquarius).
Apollo 13
6th February 1971- Alan Shephard plays golf on the moon (as part of the Apollo 14
mission)
30th June 1971- Three cosmonauts were found dead inside the Soyuz 11 after it
landed. They died from a fatal rise in blood pressure when a hole appeared in their
cabin as they prepared to land.
Soyuz 11
1st August 1971- Apollo 15 discovered some Genesis rock which gave insights into
the age of the moon and the solar system.
14th December 1972- Apollo 17 is the last moon mission, the last of the 20 planned
Apollo missions are cancelled.
Voyager 1
August 20th 1977- Voyager 2
September 5th 1977- The twin craft Voyager 1 is launched
11th July 1979- The Skylab 1 space station crashes to Earth over Western Australia. It
had been abandoned since 1974.
Skylab 1
1981- The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, was launched. They were re-usable and
NASA had hoped they would fly 40 missions per year, but they were more expensive
than imagined.
28th January 1986- The Challenger Space shuttle explodes shortly after take off. The
explosion was caused by a hole in the rocket booster. Seven people were killed,
including a teacher, doubling the number killed in space flight since it began.
Voyager 2 passing Uranus in Jan. 1986
Space Shuttle Challenger
24th April 1990- The Hubble Telescope is launched into space (seven years overdue).
The first pictures sent back were blurred, the mirrors inside the telescope had been too
flat (by 1/50th the width of a human hair). In December 1993 the telescope was
repaired in space. It has yielded some amazing images since that operation.
Space Shuttle Discovery
Hubble Telescope
6th July 1997- NASA has sent a roving machine (Sojourner) to explore Mars. It landed
on Mars onboard the Pathfinder. It travelled about Mars for 3 months, recording
temperatures (when it landed it was -93ºC) and 550 photos.
23rd March 2001- The Mir space station crashes to the Earth.
1st February 2003- The Columbia Space shuttle explodes when re-entering the Earths
atmosphere. The shuttle burnt up on re-entry because its heat shield had been
damaged on take off. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,887524,00.html)
Columbia Take-Off
25th December 2003- The British made Beagle 2 probe was due to land on Mars. It
was never heard of again.
4th January 2004- NASA send the Spirit rover and later in the month the Opportunity
to survey Mars.
Picture 4: Saturn 5 rocket (Apollo 17)
The Cassini space probe orbits Saturn
The Hugyens probe (part of the Cassini) was sent to Titan
Science and Space
Spacecraft that do not contain a crew have radio transmitting equipment to relay
information back to the Earth (including the position of the spacecraft). Manned
spacecraft are more complicated, for example they have a heat shield.
The Earth’s atmosphere contains air molecules, such as Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon
Dioxide and Water Vapour, in comparison space is a vacuum that contains no gas
molecules (there maybe trace amounts of Hydrogen present). It is these air molecules
that cause friction making spaceships burn up as they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
This was the cause of the Columbia space shuttle exploding on re-entry as its heat
protective layer was damaged during take-off. The re-entry of the Mercury, Gemini
and Apollo was solved by making a heat shield of metals, ceramic and plastic that
melted to dissipate heat. Space shuttles have ceramic tiles cemented to the ships hull.
Spaceships are able to land on runways, where previously manned spaceflights were
landed in the ocean using parachutes to slow their flight down.
Spaceships and rockets cannot steer through space like an aeroplane, but rely on
slingshot movements such as orbiting a planet and then firing boosters to leave the
planets gravity.
Astronauts require spacesuits when space-walking because there bodies would
decompress explosively. In other words all the air inside there body would be forced
out making there lungs and blood vessels explode. The temperature of the shadow of
a planet can be as low as -273ºCelcius or 0ºKelvin.
Picture 2: Bruce McCandless floats freely in space using a Manned Manoeuvring Unit
(MMU)
Cosmic radiation and solar flair can also be more dangerous than on Earth
Spaceships solve these problems by pumping cabins with pressurized air and keeping
the temperature and humidity at tolerable levels. The space craft has absorbing and
reflective surfaces to control the temperature.
Circular spacecraft are spun to provide artificial gravity for long journey astronauts.
Radiation belts contain high energy protons and electrons which can damage
electronic circuits and solar cells on spacecraft. The radiation can cause cell death
leading to haemorrhaging, or cerebral oedema leading to death within 48 hours. These
belts are found around the magnetic equator of the Earth, as well as around Jupiter
and Saturn.
Most communication satellites are geostationary, travelling at the same speed as the
Earth so that they can remain fixed over the same spot. Meteorological satellites move
in elliptical orbits, e.g. from pole to pole covering the whole Earth in 24 hours.
Artificial Satellites
Scientific Satellites
DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Oct. 4, USSR Sputnik 1 First satellite to orbit the Earth.
1957 Burned up on re-entry 3 months later.
Nov. 3, USSR Sputnik 2 First satellite to carry animal into orbit—
1957 the dog Laika.
Jan. US Explorer 1 First American satellite; discovered the
31, radiation belts around the Earth.
1958
Mar. 7, US OSO-1 First orbiting solar observatory.
1962
Sep. 4, US OGO-1 First orbiting geophysical observatory.
1964
Dec. 7, US OAO-2 First orbiting astronomical observatory.
1968
Oct. USSR Bion 1 Start of Bion series of international
31, biological experiments, involving
1973 monkeys.
May 4, US Lageos High-precision geographic measurements
1976 made from space.
Aug. US HEAO-1 First high-energy astronomy observatory.
12,
1977
Jan. US/Europe IUE International Ultraviolet Explorer.
26,
1978
Nov. US Einstein Second high-energy astronomy
13, observatory; found quasars.
1978
Feb. US SAGE Study of the Earth’s stratosphere to
18, measure ozone and aerosols.
1979
Feb. US Solar Max Observatory designed to study solar
14, activity.
1980
Jan. US/Europe IRAS First satellite to make detailed all-sky
25, infrared survey.
1983
Mar. USSR Astron Observatory with ultraviolet and X-ray
23, telescopes.
1983
May US/Europe Exosat Detailed study of X-ray sources in the
26, Milky Way and other galaxies.
1983
Aug. US/Europe AMPTE Active Magnetosphere Particle Tracer
16, Explorer to study solar wind and Earth’s
1984 magnetic field.
Apr. USSR Foton Materials processing experiments.
14,
1988
Nov. US COBE First satellite to map cosmic background
17, radiation in detail.
1989
Nov. USSR Granat Observatory to study distant galaxies.
30,
1989
Apr. US Hubble First large optical telescope placed in
24, Earth orbit, seeing farther into space
1990 than any instrument before.
Jul. 11, USSR Gamma Observatory to study gamma rays,
1990 pulsars and high-energy sources.
Apr. 5, US Compton 17-tonne gamma ray observatory.
1991
Dec. USSR Intercosmos 25 Active plasma experiment with
18, subsatellite.
1991
Oct. Russia Progress M-15 First test of solar sail to light up the night
27, sky from space.
1992
Mar. 2, Russia Koronas-1 Studied internal structure of the sun.
1994
Nov. Europe ISO Infrared Space Observatory - successor
17, to IRAS.
1995
Space Stations
DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Apr. USSR Salyut 1 First manned space station; three
19, Soviet cosmonauts spent 23 days
1971 on board.
May US Skylab American astronauts occupied
14, station for 28, 59, and 84 days
1973 over 1973-1974.
Sep. USSR Salyut 6 Soviet cosmonauts set new
29, endurance records of 96, 139, 175,
1977 and 185 days over 1977-1982.
Apr. USSR Salyut 7 Soviet cosmonauts set new
19, endurance records of 211 and 237
1982 days over 1982-1986.
Feb. USSR Mir First permanent orbiting space
19, station, with Soviet, Russian,
1986 American, and international crews.
Cosmonauts set endurance records
of 326, 366, and 438 days.
Nov. Europe Spacelab This space laboratory conducted
28, more than 400 experiments
1983 designed by about 500 scientists
from 17 countries over a 15-year
life.
Nov. Canada; International Space Station When complete, the station will
20, Europe; house six laboratories that will be
1998 Japan; used by up to seven astronauts to
Russia; perform experiments in an
US environment free from gravity.
Communications Satellites
DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Dec. 18, US Project Broadcast first voice messages from space.
1958 Score
Aug. 12, US Echo 1 Signals beamed off orbiting balloon.
1960
Jul. 10, US Telstar First satellite to relay television programmes between the United
1962 States and Europe.
Jul. 26, US Syncom 2 First synchronous satellite.
1963
Apr. 6, US Early Bird First commercial communications satellite.
1965
Apr. 23, USSR Molniya USSR initiates its communication satellite system.
1965
Jan. 26, US Intelsat 4 Introduction of high-capacity international communications system.
1971
May 30, US ATS-6 Experimental direct broadcast satellite used for educational
1974 programmes and medical conferencing.
Apr. 4, US TDRS 1 First Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, launched by space shuttle
1983 Challenger.
Jan. 29, Russia Informator Experimental programme to test role of communications satellites in
1991 disaster relief.
Weather & Observation Satellites
DATE
LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Feb. 17, US Vanguard 2 First satellite to send weather information back to
1959 Earth.
Apr. 1, US Tiros 1 First weather satellite photographic system.
1960
Aug. 28, US Nimbus 1 Start of Nimbus system of weather and observation
1964 satellites.
Mar. 26, USSR Meteor 1 Introduction of operational Soviet weather satellite
1969 system.
Jul. 23, US Landsat 1 First dedicated Earth resources satellite.
1972
May 17, US SMS-1 First weather satellite stationed in synchronous orbit,
1974 followed by operational system (GOES).
Jun. 27, US Seasat Sea observation satellite.
1978
Jul. 5, USSR Okean Introduction of sea observation system.
1988
Mar. 31, USSR Almaz 1 Large space platform with radar to map the ocean
1991 floor.
Navigation Satellites
DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Apr. 13, 1960 US Transit 1B First experimental navigation satellite.
Feb. 21, 1978 US Navstar Introduction of the global positioning system.
Oct. 12, 1982 USSR Cosmos 1413-1415 Introduction of Soviet global positioning system, GLONASS.
Major Space Probes
DATE LAUNCHED NATION NAME ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Sept. 12, USS Luna 2 First probe to hard-land on
1959 R the Moon.
Oct. 4, USS Luna 3 Circled the Moon’s far side,
1959 R transmitting television
pictures.
Aug. 27, US Mariner 2 First probe to make a
1962 successful fly-by of the planet
Venus.
Jul. 28, US Ranger 7 Transmitted television
1964 pictures of the Moon until
impact.
Nov. 28, US Mariner 4 First probe to make a
1964 successful fly-by of the planet
Mars, sending back
photographs of craters on the
planet.
Jan. 31, USS Luna 9 First probe to soft-land on the
1966 R Moon.
Mar. 31, USS Luna 10 First probe to enter lunar
1966 R orbit.
Jun. 12, USS Venera 4 First probe to descend by
1967 R parachute through the
atmosphere of Venus,
sending information.
Sept. 15, USS Zond 5 First probe to circle the Moon
1968 R and be recovered on Earth.
Aug. 17, USS Venera 7 First probe to transmit
1970 R information from the surface
of the planet Venus.
Sept. 12, USS Luna 16 Collected lunar soil, sent back
1970 R to Earth in small cabin for
recovery.
Nov. 10, USS Luna 17 Landed the first automatic
1970 R roving vehicle on the Moon,
Lunokhod-1.
May 30, US Mariner 9 First probe to orbit Mars, first
1971 mapping survey of the planet.
Mar. 10, US Pioneer 10, 11 First deep-
1972 space
Apr. 5, probes,
1973 both flying
past
Jupiter,
Pioneer 11
flying on to
pass
Saturn.
Nov. 3, US Mariner 10 Swung by Venus before
1973 making three fly-bys of the
planet Mercury.
Dec. 10, US/G Helios 1 First probe to fly close to the
1974 er Sun.
Aug., US Viking 1, 2 Both probes entered Mars
Sept. orbit to map the planet,
1975 dropping landers that
transmitted pictures, acted as
weather and scientific
stations and analysed the
Martian soil.
Jun. USS Venera 9, 10 Soft-landed on Venus, taking
1975 R first photographs from its
surface.
Aug., US Voyager 1, 2 Both probes travelled through
Sept. the Jovian and Saturnian
1977 systems, photographing the
planets and their Moons.
Voyager 2 subsequently
passed through the systems
of Uranus and Neptune. Both
have left the solar system to
become the first interstellar
spacecraft.
Oct., USS Venera 13, 14 Landed on Venus, drilled
Nov. R surface rocks and analysed
1981 them in a small laboratory.
Dec. USS Vega 1, 2 Both probes flew by Venus,
1984 R dropping landers and
balloons, flew on to intercept
Halley’s comet.
Jul. 2, Euro Giotto Close interception of Halley’s
1985 pe comet.
May 4, US Magellan Provided the first detailed
1989 radar maps of the Venusian
surface, concluding with the
first aerobraking manoeuvres
in the planet’s atmosphere.
Oct. 17, US Galileo Orbiter entered the Jovian
1989 system Dec. 1995, sending a
probe deep into the
atmosphere of Jupiter.
Oct. 6, US/E Ulysses Swung out to Jupiter’s orbit
1990 urop before describing an arc over
e the poles of the Sun.
Jan. 25, US Clementine Small spacecraft in lunar
1994 polar orbit for mapping and
geological study.
Feb. 17, US NEAR In Feb. 2000 it became the
1996 first probe to go into orbit
around an asteroid when it
reached 433 Eros, providing
data on its composition and
geology.
Nov.7, US Mars Global Surveyor Mars Pathfinder lander
1996 touched down on Jul. 4,
1997; Sojourner robot vehicle
rolled off and began
exploration on Jul. 5. Orbiter
mapped the planet from Apr.
1, 1999, using a laser
altimeter that enables
measurements made to
accuracy of 2m (6 ft).
Oct. 15, US Cassini Probe scheduled to enter
1997 orbit around Saturn in 2004,
while Huygens lander
detaches and lands on
Saturn’s moon Titan.
Jul. 4, Japa Nozomi Scheduled to orbit Mars in
1998 n 2004 but developed a
technical fault in Dec. 2003
and was subsequently
decommissioned.
Oct. 24, US Deep Space 1 Flew by the asteroid Braille in
1998 Jul. 1999, but failed to image
it. Later obtained detailed
pictures of surface of Comet
Borrelly in Sept. 2001.
Dec. 11, US Mars Climate Orbiter Ceased communication as it
1998 reached Mars in Sept. 1999.
Jan. 3, US Mars Polar Lander Probe scheduled to land near
1999 southern polar cap of Mars
and conduct soil analysis,
searching for possible signs of
life in Mars’s past, but ceased
communication as it reached
the planet.
Feb. 6, US Stardust Due to fly by Comet Wild-2 in
1999 2004 and collect samples of
dust and gas streaming off it.
Due to return to Earth with
samples in 2006.
Apr. 7, US Mars Odyssey Successfully entered into
2001 orbit around Mars in Oct.
2001 and detected large
quantities of water-ice
crystals below the surface
over much of the planet.
Aug. 8, US Genesis Took up high Earth orbit,
2001 outside the magnetosphere,
and collected samples of ions
from the solar wind. Also
designed to give insight into
the nature of solar nebulae.
Jun. 2, Euro Mars Express Beagle-2 landed on Mars in
2003 pe Dec. 2003 but immediately
ceased communication while
Mars Express went into orbit.
Jun. 10 US Mars Exploration Rovers Landed on Mars in Jan. 2004.
and Jul.
7, 2003
Sept. 17, Euro SMART-1 Made first comprehensive
2003 pe inventory of key chemical
elements in lunar surface,
and investigated theory that
Moon was formed during the
violent collision of a smaller
planet with Earth.
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