Transcript History of Space Exploration

History of Space
Exploration
Start of the Space Race
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Oct 4, 1957 – Soviet Union lauches
Sputnik, the first artificial satellite
Apr 12, 1961 – Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin becomes the first man in space
Project Mercury
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NASA formed on Oct 1, 1958
Goal: Put an American in Orbit
May 6, 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes the first
American in Space
Feb 20, 1962 – John Glenn becomes the first
American to Orbit Earth
Proved astronauts could control spacecraft and
that a human could stay in space for more than a
day.
Project Gemini
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Built on Mercury’s success
2 astronauts flew at once
Conducted scientific experiments
Performed first US space walks
Project Apollo
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July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong becomes the first
person to walk on the Moon
12 Americans have walked on the moon
First photographs taken of Earth from space
First casualties of the space program with
Apollo 1 disaster
Gathered hundreds of pounds of lunar soil and
rock, and helped us better understand the Moon
Skylab
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36 meters long with 2 “stories”
Launched May 14, 1973
Conducted experiments on how extended
stays in space affected the human body
Burned up in Earth’s atmosphere in 1979
(emptied of equipment and passengers!)
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
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Partnership between US and Soviet Union
US spacecraft docked with Soviet
spacecraft on July 17, 1975
Space Shuttle to Space Station
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1981: first orbital test flight of space shuttle
The orbiter and solid rocket boosters are
reusable, only the External Tank is disposable.
International Space Station construction began in
1998, scheduled to be complete in 2010
Over 15 nations are cooperating to build the
International Space Station
Scientific Probes
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Robotic spacecraft sent out to explore moons,
planets, and other places in our Solar System
Some examples include Pioneer, Galileo, Mariner
and Voyager.
Viking and Mars Pathfinder explored Mars.
What else did you learn about these spacecraft
and missions as you conducted your planet
research?
Brain Bites
20. How Robots Help Humans
Explore.