The Space Age

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The Beginning

This all minds was first created by the Rocket scientist of Adolf Hitler, Wernher von Braun. He was credited as the “Father of Rocket Science” for his invention that could change aerospace forever, The V-2 rocket.

This was the first known human artifact to reach and enter outer space. It was the progenitor of all modern rockets, including those used by the United States and Soviet Union space programs. This led to an eclectic array of experiments that flew on V-2s and paved the way for American manned space exploration. 

V-2 Rocket

This photo was taken from a V-2 launched by U.S Scientists on 24 October 1946.

The Sputnik I

• It was the first artificial Earth satellite It was a 585 mm (23 in) diameter shiny metal sphere, with four external radio antennae to broadcast radio pulses. It was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.

The Formation of NASA• The NASA was formed on July 29, 1958. From

1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1.In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch an artificial satellite for the International Geophysical Year (1957–58). After the Soviet launch of the world's first artificial satellite (Sputnik I) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. 

1958 Current

The Formation of NASA

• President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act.

On July 29, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA absorbed the 46-year-old NACA intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of US$100 million, three major research laboratories (Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory) and two small test facilities.

The photograph of Laika

Laika was a Soviet space dog that became the first animal to orbit the Earth. As little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, there was no expectation of Laika's survival. It’s living on outer space paves the way for human spaceflight. Unfortunately, Over five months later, after 2,570 orbits, Sputnik II disintegrated—along with Laika's remains—during re-entry on April 14, 1958.

Laika “The Soviet Space Dog”

Yuri Gagarin and the Vostok Spacecraft

• The Vostok was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961. The flight marked the first time that a human entered outer space, as well as the first orbital flight of a manned vehicle. Yuri Gagarin was the only crew member of Vostok I. The Vostok spacecraft were designed to carry a single cosmonaut. 

Vostok I Spacecraft photo Yuri Gagarin

“I could have gone on flying through space forever.”

• Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961. Gagarin later became deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow, which was later named after him. Gagarin died in 1968 when the MiG 15 training jet he was piloting crashed.

Yuri Gagarin and the Vostok Spacecraft

American Astronauts

• Alan Shepard - First American to be in space.

- He became the fifth person to walk on the Moon, and the only astronaut of the Mercury Seven to walk on the Moon. 

- Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the lander to the most accurate landing of the Apollo missions.

American Astronauts

• John Glenn - He was the first American to orbit the Earth  and the third American in space. 

- He flew the Friendship 7 mission on February 20, 1962. In 1965, Glenn retired from the military and resigned from NASA so he could be eligible to stand for election to public office.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

• Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon. Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin is an American astronaut, and the second person to walk on the Moon.  About 20 minutes after the first step, Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface and became the second human to set foot on the Moon, and the duo began their tasks of investigating how easily a person could operate on the lunar surface.

• From left to right (Armstrong and Aldrin plants the U.S flag in moon. Armstrong took his space step and Aldrin joined him.)

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

About 20 minutes after the first step, Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface and became the second human to set foot on the Moon, and the duo began their tasks of investigating how easily a person could operate on the lunar surface. Early on, they unveiled a plaque commemorating their flight, and also planted the flag of the United States. The flag used on this mission had a metal rod to hold it horizontal from its pole. 

• Photograph of Neil Armstrong

• Photograph of Buzz Aldrin

Salyut I

• Salyut I was the first space station of any kind, launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971.  At launch, the announced purpose of Salyut was to test the elements of the systems of a space station and to conduct scientific research and experiments. The craft was described as being 20 m in length, 4 m in maximum diameter, and 99 m³ in interior space with an on-orbit dry mass of 18,425 kg. 

The Salyut I photograph

The station was intentionally destroyed by de-orbiting it after six months in orbit, because it ran out of fuel before a redesigned Soyuz spacecraft could be launched to it.

Salyut I

Space Shuttle

• The Space Shuttle was a crewed, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its official program name was Space Transportation System, taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item to be funded for development.

The lifting of Discovery (left) and Atlantis (Right)

Major missions included launching numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, the Hubble Space Telescope(HST), conducting space science experiments, and constructing and servicing the International Space Station. Major components included the orbiters, recoverable boosters, external tanks, payloads, and supporting infrastructure. Five space-worthy orbiters were built; two were lost in mission accidentS.

Space Shuttle

Formation of the Skylab - Skylab was the first space station of the NASA and the U.S.A that orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979., and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. After Skylab's demise, the focus shifted to the reusable Spacelab module, an orbital workshop that could be deployed from the Space Shuttle and returned to Earth. The next American space station project was Space Station Freedom which was never completed, although it eventually led to the construction of the US Orbital Segment of the International Space Station, starting in 1998. Shuttle-Mir was another project, and led to the U.S. funding Spektr, Priroda, and the Mir Docking Module in the 1990s.

The Picture of Skylab

Formation of MirA space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the largest artificial satellite orbiting the Earth until its deorbit on 21 March 2001 (a record now surpassed by the International Space Station). Mir served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems in order to develop technologies required for the permanent occupation of space.

Formation of ISSThe International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. It follows the Salyut, Almaz, Skylab and Mir stations as the ninth space station to be inhabited. The ISS is a modular structure whose first component was launched in 1998Now the largest artificial body in orbit, it can often be seen at the appropriate time with the naked eye from Earth without any special equipment.The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components. ISS components have been launched by American Space Shuttles as well as Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets

Satellite

• An object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon.

Up to now, these incredible inventions and discoveries made possible to identify the true Meaning of Space Hope you like it!