-
Sputnik I
-worlds first aritficial satalite launched by the Soviet Union
-size of a beach ball
-took approx. 98 mins to orbit earth
-launched the start of the space age and the beginning of the U.S.-USSR space race -
Period: to
Mercury Program
-US first major prpgram to establish a human presence in space
-made 6 human flights (1961-1963)
Goals:
--successfully orbit a manned spacecraft around earth
--investigate mankinds ability to function in space
--to recover both occupant and spacecraft -
History of NASA
-its birth was related to the pressures of national defense. Space exploration emerged as a major area of contest known as the space race.
-This was during the period of the Cold War
-launched its first Earth satellite on January 31, 1958. (Explorer 1: documented the existence of radiation zones encircling the earth...NASA was not yet created though)
-8,000 employees, annual buget of $100 million, 3 major research laboratories. -
Period: to
NASA History
Human space flight initiatives-Mercury's single astronaut program (flights 1961-1963) to ascertain if a human could survive in space; Project Gemini (flights 1965-1966) with two astronauts to practice space operations, especially rendezvous and docking of spacecraft and extravehicular activity (EVA); and Project Apollo (1968-1972) to explore the Moon.
Robotic missions to the Moon Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter, Venus, Mars, and the outer planets
Aeronautics research to enhance air transport -
Yuri Gagarin: 1st man in Space
-He was a Russian cosmonaut and he was the first man in space.
-He made a 108-minute orbital flight in his Vostok 1 spacecraft.
-He was 27 years old. -
Alan Shepard
-1st American in space
-rode in the Freedom 7 spacecraft
-blasted off from Florida
-flight carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range
-Twelve years later, Shepard would leave Earth's atmosphere again to become the fifth man to walk on the moon; and the first one to play golf there. -
John Glenn
-piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States.
-completed a successful three-orbit mission around the earth, reaching a maximum altitude (apogee) of approximately 162 statute miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour.
-Mission duration from launch to impact was 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds. -
Period: to
Apollo Prgrams
-was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth
-6 of the missions achieved this goal
-Apollo spacecrafts brought back info and pictures and samples of things from the moon -
Period: to
Gemini Program
-named for the crew of two astronauts flying aboard each Gemini spacecraft
-was the second human spaceflight program initiated by the US (between Murcury and Apollo)
-consisted of 10 successful flights
-provided crucial experience by developing and testing the techniques for advanced space travel and long-duration space operations necessary to land humans on the moon
-missions involved the first American extravehicular activity -
Neil Armstrong
-Astronaut aboard Apollo 11
-AKA the first man to walk on the moon
-Crew Aboard Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins
-when taking first steps on the moon he said "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
