-
First Spacesuit Invented
In the early 1930's, the first spacesuit was invented by Evgeniy Chertovsky. The spacesuit was made to to keep astronauts well and alive because of the environment in space (vacuum and extreme temperatures). Space suits are often wore inside the space shuttle in case of loss of cabin pressure. It costs an average 12 million dollars for one average space suit. The first space suit was worn in 1961, and worn by the Soviet, Yuri Gargarin. -
Period: to
Space Inventions
A timeline about space inventions. My timeline travels from the first spacesuit to Dextre. You will learn new things about space inventions along the way, too! -
Sputnik 1
On October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 was launched into orbit. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite launched in space. To launch it into space, the Soviets had to use a powerful rocket to launch it high above the earth and shoot it to the ground at a very high speed. The mission lasted from October 4, 1957 to January 4, 1958. It weighed approx. 183 kg. On January 4, 1957,Sputnik burned up as it fell from orbit upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. It was created by the Soviet Union space program. -
Sputnik 2
On November 3, 1957 Sputnik 2 was launched. Sputnik 2 was the second artificial satellite to be launched into space. Sputnik 2 was the first satellite to be able to carry a passenger. The passenger was a female dog named Laika. Sadly, the satellite only carried life support for a few days. so when the Sputnik 2 was still in space, Laika died because of overheating and stress. The weight of Sputnik 2 is 508 kg. The mission was 162 days long. It was created by the Soviet Union space program. -
Explorer 1
On January 31, 1958, the first American satellite, Explorer 1, was created by NASA. Explorer 1 was shaped like a pencil so it could spin like a bullet. The purpose of Explorer 1 was to measure cosmic radiation, and temperature in space. It stopped communicating with NASA because of battery exhaustion. On March 31, 1970, Explorer 1 reentered earth's atmosphere and burned up. -
Lunar Rover
On July 26, 1971, the Lunar Rover was launched. The Lunar Rover is a battery powered four-wheeled rover. The Lunar Rover was created by NASA for astronauts so instead of walking on the moon, they could drive. The Lunar Rover's speed was a "fast" seven mph. It weighed approx. 206 kg on Earth, and weighed approx. 37 kg on the Moon. On Apollo 15, it drove approx. 25 km, on Apollo 16 it drove approx. 33 km, and on Apollo 17 it drove approx. 18 km. It cost 32 million dollars to invent. -
Columbia
On April 12, 1981, the first space shuttle, Columbia, was lauched by NASA. Columbia had 28 missions. Sadly, on the 28th mission, on February 1, 2003, as Columbia was reentering Earth's atmosphere, the space shuttle disintegrated the space shuttle and killed the astronauts that were in Columbia. The seven astronauts that were in Columbia when it disintegrated were: Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon. Columbia had 160 crews. -
Canadarm1
On November 13, 1981, the Canadarm was invented by the Canadian Space Agency. The Canadarm was a mechanical arm on a space shuttle. It was used to maneuver a payload from the payload bay, move it, and release it at the correct spot and position. The maximum payload of the Canadarm is an astounding 586 000 lbs! The Canadarm has six joints. The Canadarm is one of the biggest contributions Canada has made for space. The Canadarm was 15.2 metres long. -
Hubble Space Telescope
On April 24, 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble is a telescope that orbits earth which lets people on earth see earth from space. The purpose for Hubble is to take pictures of space and send it back to earth so people can imagine what space looks like. The end of the Hubble Space Telescope mission is scheduled for 2013-2021. The telescope is named after the astronomer, Edwin Hubble. Hubble is still in space currently. -
International Space Station
Throughout 1998, the International Space Station (ISS) was built in space. The ISS Is an orbiting laboratory and construction site. It took 16 nations to build the International Space Station. It weighs 450 000 kg. The station has been continuously occupied for 11 years and 106 days. The ISS is expected to stay in operation to 2020, but potentially 2028. The ISS is separated into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Segment. It is floating approx. 390 km above Earth. -
Canadarm2
On April 19, 2001, the Canadarm2 was launched. Canadarm2 is a robotic arm. Canadarm2 is attached to the ISS. It is also known as the Mobile Servicing System or MSS for short. The Canadarm2 is used to move equipment and other supplies around the ISS. It is attached to Dextre. This is another huge contribution Canada has made to space. It has seven joints. The Canadian Space Agency invented the Canadarm2. It is 17.6 metres long. -
Spirit
On June 10, 2003, the Mars Rover, Spirit (Mars Exploration Rover-A) was launched into space. The launch vehicle it was in was the Delta II. It was powered all from solar energy. In late 2009, the Mars Rover became stuck. It's last communication to earth was on March 22, 2010. It was invented by NASA. -
Opportunity
On July 7, 2003, the Mars Rover, Opportunity (Mars Exploration Rover-B) was launched into space. The Launch Vehicle was also the Delta II. It was also powered by solar energy. The planned mission duration of the Opportunity Rover was 92.5 days, but it is currently 2945 days since landing on Mars. It's still in communication with Earth. NASA invented this Mars Rover. -
Dextre
On March 11, 2008, the Robot, Dextre was born. Dextre is a two armed robot. It is also sometimes recognized as the Canada Hand, attached to the Canadarm2. It is also known as the "Two-Armed Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator". Dextre can perform tasks such as: It was created by the Canadian Space Agency.
