Key events in space exploration. (Skills Master 2).For thousands of years, human beings have gazed at the stars and wondered about the origins of the universe. Just 50 years ago, humans began to touch the stars through space exploration. The time line below lists key events in the history of space travel. Study the information, then complete the activity. October 4, 1957 The Soviet Union launches Sputnik Sputnik: see satellite, artificial; space exploration. Sputnik Any of a series of Earth-orbiting spacecraft whose launching by the Soviet Union inaugurated the space age. I, the world's first artificial satellite, into space. Three months later, the U.S. launches its first artificial satellite, Explorer I. The "space race," a competition between the two countries to explore the universe, begins. April 12, 1961 Soviet cosmonaut cosmonaut: see astronaut. Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth, becoming the first human in space. Less than a month later, Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space when he embarks on a 15-minute suborbital suborbital /sub·or·bi·tal/ (sub-or´bi-t'l) infraorbital. sub·or·bit·al adj. Situated on or below the floor of the orbit of the eye. n. flight. May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in commits the U.S. to landing an astronaut on the moon before the end of the decade. The next year, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth. January 27, 1967 Project Apollo, a U.S. mission charged with reaching the moon, suffers a shocking setback when a fire in the Apollo command module kills three astronauts. Further manned flights are delayed for almost two years. July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin aldrin (ôl`drĭn): see insecticides. become the first humans to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. 1970 The Apollo 13 spacecraft loses its main power supply due to an explosion during its approach to the moon. But NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. flight controllers in Houston devise a way to use the moon's gravity field to bring the spacecraft back to Earth. 1973 America launches Skylab, the nation's first space station. 1974 American and Soviet space-crafts dock in orbit for the first time. April 12, 1981 The first space shuttle, Columbia--a reusable spacecraft that can support scientific missions and carry payloads in its cargo bay--lifts off from Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral) U.S. launch site for manned space missions. [U.S. Hist.: WB, So:562] See : Astronautics . January 28, 1986 The space shuttle Challenger explodes just seconds after lift-off, killing all seven aboard, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. The accident paralyzes the U.S. space program for two years. February 20, 1986 Russia launches the first component of the Mir space station. 1990 NASA launches the Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first large optical orbiting observatory. Built from 1978 to 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, the HST (named for astronomer E. P. Hubble) was expected to provide the clearest view yet obtained of the universe. , which has helped to determine the rate at which the universe is expanding. November 7, 1996 The Mars Global Surveyor The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was a US spacecraft developed by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. It began the United States's return to Mars after a 20-year absence. is launched. The craft enters Martian orbit in 1998, where it is still mapping the planet. December 1996 A probe from the Galileo spacecraft. reveals that Europa, a moon of Jupiter, may contain ice or liquid water, a possible indication of life forms on the moon. July 1997 The Pathfinder spacecraft lands on Mars. The craft, with a miniature rover called Sojourner, explores the surface of the planet. December 1998 Construction begins on the International Space Station, a permanent, orbiting scientific laboratory. May 1999 The Disco very becomes the first space shuttle to dock with the space station. November 2000 An international crew begins living aboard the space station. February 2003 The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry RE-ENTRY, estates. The resuming or retaking possession of land which the party lately had. 2. Ground rent deeds and leases frequently contain a clause authorizing the landlord to reenter on the non-payment of rent, or the breach of some covenant, when the into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard. |
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